Lauderdale County tax bills due Feb. 1

By By Lynette Wilson / staff writer
Jan. 8, 2003
Lauderdale County taxpayers have until Feb. 1 to pay their property taxes if they want to avoid paying late fees.
And if they are unsure about the exact amount they owe or their home's appraised value, they can find the information online at www.lauderdalecounty.org.
In most cases, homeowners who still have an outstanding mortgage don't have to worry about paying taxes because their lenders pay them from escrow accounts.
In all other cases, property owners must pay the taxes themselves.
Property sold in the delinquent tax sale does not change hands for two years, Shannon said. The original owners still have time to pay back taxes, interest and court costs to keep the property.
Tax bills were mailed mid-December, and Shannon said he's received numerous complaints from upset property owners.
Taxpayers living in Lauderdale County and Meridian saw a 7.01 percent and 3.47 percent decrease in the tax rate, respectively.
Despite that, many taxpayer property values increased which caused taxes to increase
Tax Assessor Jimmy Slay said the county was required by law to perform a reappraisal in 2002.
Slay said the reappraisal hurt those taxpayers who have lived in the same house for more than 10 years and who may have been unaware of their property's market value.