The Putnam County Commission meeting of Tuesday, July 29th, was a bit out of the ordinary. WCHS-TV was in attendance. The electronic media does not usually go to the expense of dispatching a reporter to a county commission meeting unless there is a newsworthy item will come before the commission. The meeting agenda listed four items, none of which would warrant television coverage — appointment of humane officers, a budget revision, a small grant for record keeping management, and a change order for the county’s fiberoptic project.
The reason for television coverage of the meeting did not become apparent until the public comment period, the very last agenda item. Three individuals addressed the commission concerning increased property taxes.
County residents voted to replace the long-time fire fee with a special fire levy in May of 2024. The levy added 5¢ per $100 of assessed value to the tax bill of individual home owners and 10¢ per $100 to the tax bill of business property owners. The real cost of the fire levy became known when property tax bills were mailed in July.
The three who addressed the commission had not anticipated the tax bills which they received. While the fire levy is an additional tax, it is not the only reason for increased tax tickets. Taxes reflect the assessed value of the property. Property values have steadily increased in Putnam County.
One resident said that his taxes had increased $1000 in the last two years. Tax records reveal that assessed value of his property has increased by 25% between 2023 and 2025. Commissioner Andy Skidmore said that accuracy checks of the assessed values in the vast majority of cases have found that the numbers are correct.
Another property owner questioned receiving a fire fee billing in February and a tax bill in July that funded fire service. Skidmore said the fire fee billing funded fire service for the fiscal year prior to the year funded by the fire levy.
Sheriff Bobby Eggleton used the commission meeting to recognize the service of long-time employee Cindy Hall who was forced into retirement by the debilitating effects of her cancer treatments. Eggleton also recognized the life-saving actions of Deputy Matthew Wood who applied a tourniquet to a gun-shot victim during an incident on July 17th when he was subject to gunfire.
In other business, the commission appointed Richard Boehm to the Board of Zoning Appeals and Ashley Fisher to the Putnam County Animal Shelter Board.
The next Putnam County Commission meeting will be August 12th.
