
Chattooga County property owners who disagree with their 2026 property assessment have only a few days remaining to file an appeal.

Chattooga County property owners who disagree with their 2026 property assessment have only a few days remaining to file an appeal.

The Walker County Board of Commissioners will have several major financial decisions before it when commissioners meet Thursday evening, including adoption of the county’s Fiscal Year 2027 budget and millage rate.

Chattooga County residents who have questions about their property assessments, appeals or tax bills will have an opportunity to hear directly from county officials during a free property tax class Monday, August 31.
The class, “Understanding Property Taxes in Chattooga County,” will begin at 6 PM at the Chattooga County Agricultural Center, 33 Middle School Road in Summerville.
The goal is to give residents a clearer understanding of how property taxes work at the local level, including assessments, appeals, exemptions, tax relief, tax bills and how the county millage rate is established.
Sole Commissioner Andy Allen will open the class with an overview of the property tax process and explain the roles of the different elected county officials involved. Allen will also discuss how the millage rate process works.
Chattooga County Tax Assessor Nancy Edgeman will explain the property tax appeal process and the duties of the Tax Assessor’s Office.
Tax Commissioner Joy Hampton will cover how taxpayers can understand and estimate their tax bills, the different layers of property tax relief available in 2026 and property tax exemptions.
The class comes at a particularly important time for local property owners, with many Chattooga County residents questioning their latest property assessments and filing appeals.
The program is Monday, August 31, at 6 PM at the Chattooga County Agricultural Center in Summerville.

Chattooga County property owners seeing major increases on their 2026 assessment notices should not assume their property tax bills will increase by the same percentage.

The Walker County Board of Commissioners will hold a special called work session next week to continue discussions surrounding the county’s upcoming budget and millage rate.
The work session is scheduled for Tuesday, August 18, at 1 p.m. in the conference room of the Walker County Administration Building, Courthouse Annex I, located at 101 S. Duke Street in LaFayette.
According to the meeting agenda, commissioners will focus on the Fiscal Year 2027 budget and millage rate.
The agenda calls for Chairwoman Teems to open the meeting, followed by attendance and discussion of the FY2027 budget and millage rate. The meeting will adjourn following that discussion.
The special called work session is open to the public.
Walker County says anyone requiring assistance to participate in the meeting due to a disability should contact the County Clerk prior to the meeting.
The meeting comes as county commissioners continue working through financial decisions that will determine spending priorities and the property tax rate for the upcoming fiscal year.

With 2026 property assessment notices arriving in mailboxes across Chattooga County, property owners are being reminded that September 14 is the deadline to appeal their assessment if they believe their property has been incorrectly valued.

Chattooga County Tax Commissioner Joy Hampton is addressing concerns from property owners who are seeing higher or unexpected values on their assessment notices, while also explaining how upcoming tax relief measures and FLOST sales tax revenue will affect final tax bills.

Chattooga County Sole Commissioner Andy Allen is asking residents to remain patient after many property owners recently received their annual property assessment notices showing increases in assessed values.

Property owners across Chattooga County are beginning to receive their 2026 Property Assessment Notices in the mail, but local officials want residents to understand that these notices are not property tax bills.

The Walker County Board of Education plans to adopt a full rollback millage rate of 14.013 mills during its meeting on Monday, August 17.
According to information released by Walker County Schools, the rollback rate is calculated using the previous year’s millage rate minus the millage equivalent of the total net assessed value added through property reassessments.
A public hearing on the proposed 2026 millage rate will be held at 6 p.m. on August 17 in the boardroom of the Walker County Department of Education, located at 301 N. Cherokee Street in LaFayette.
School district officials say they continue to work to balance the growing needs of students with efforts to keep local taxes as low as possible while also maximizing state funding.
Walker County Schools noted that over the past six years, the district has either lowered or maintained its millage rate. In 2019, the rate stood at 17.404 mills. For 2026, the district plans to adopt the full rollback rate of 14.013 mills.
All concerned citizens are invited to attend the public hearing.