Hardin County tax bills arriving in mail have new look

Oct. 8– Landowners in Hardin County have been getting property tax notices with a new look in the mail this week.

Instead of a small card as in years past, the latest tax bills are printed on paper and come with a return mail envelope.

"I hope it’s going to be better with the sheets of paper than the cards," said Hardin County Trustee Linda McCasland. "It has a breakdown on land and improvements, whereas the card just had the total...which I think is a plus, too."

The new tax notices provide more information, including not only the total amount owed and the assessed value, but the land value and improvement value, such as a house on the lot.

McCasland said the decision was made to contract with a Georgia company to process the tax notices.

Previously, the county trustee’s office handled the mail-out in-house, consolidating the cards by property owner and writing addresses on envelopes by hand.

McCasland noted that using the computerized mailing system, some landowners may not receive tax notices for all their parcels of property in a single envelope.

The total assessment of taxable property in Hardin County is $598,350,976, which should generate $9,992,740 in revenue for the county.

At $1.67 per $100 of assessed value, Hardin County residents continue to have one of the lowest county property tax rates in Tennessee.

To avoid interest and penalty, taxes must be paid by Feb. 28, 2011.