George L. Rooker Jr.
is a life-long resident of Nashville, TN. He attended Goodpasture
Christian School and David Lipscomb University,
where he received a B.S. in Business Administration.
George began his
thirty-plus year career with the Assessor's office as
a college intern. Following graduation from Lipscomb, he returned to
forge a fulltime career in this
Metro Nashville agency, serving for 12 years as Chief Deputy
Assessor just prior to assuming his current role.
George
is a Certified Public Administrator, having completed classes
through the University of Tennessee Institute of Public
Administration. He is also an active member and current
Secretary/Treasurer of the Tennessee Association of Assessing
Officers
(TNAAO), the President of the Middle Tennessee Assessors
Association (MTAA), as well as a member of the International Association of
Assessing Officers (IAAO), where he served as Vice-Chair of the
Metropolitan Jurisdictional Council.
In 2009,
the Davidson County Assessor's office received the IAAO
Public Information award for
its broad-reaching efforts to
educate the public on the property reappraisal process in
declining market conditions.
The department's public information program on the
reappraisal included:
- More than 80 public meetings with council district,
neighborhood and civic groups
- A series of six video productions available on its
padctn.com website and public television
- An informative brochure mailed with each notice of
assessment
- A telephone center staffed by appraisers to answer
taxpayer questions and set informal reviews
- An online computer form for taxpayers to request reviews
- And more than 60 interviews with news media plus
appearances on radio and television talk shows
In addition, the Tennessee Association of Assessing Officers
(TNAAO) named Rooker its "Tennessee Assessor of the Year,"
marking the first time that an Assessor has received the honor
during his/her first year of office. He was also elected
to the organization's Board of Directors.
George resides in Inglewood with his
wife, Jennifer, and he has one son, Jonathan. He is a member of
St. Philip's Episcopal Church where he formerly served on the vestry.
George
also works with various community organizations
including Habitat for Humanity, Second Harvest Food Bank, Room
in the Inn and the Kiwanis Club of Madison TN.
Duties
of the Assessor of Property
General
- Is a
Tennessee constitutionally elected official who serves at the
pleasure of the Davidson County citizens for a four-year term
- Has a duty to discover, list, classify and value all
property within the jurisdiction of Davidson County for tax
purposes, including both real property (land and all
buildings, structures and improvements to the land) and
personal (or personalty) property (machinery and equipment,
fixtures, furniture and other items that are moveable in nature
and used by a business.)
Discover
- Locate and
identify all property that should legally be included in the
county assessment roll
- Capture all new construction,
additions and demolition of existing improvements as well as
changes to land use and configuration
- Track building
permits, completion notices, property sales, zoning changes and
other sources of information regarding property status
-
Utilize reports filed by businesses each year (by March 1) listing
all personal property or updating those reports already on file
to maintain concise property records
List
- Accurately record
and list all of a property's characteristics to properly value
the land and all improvements
- Measure all structures and
extra features
- Note amenities or features that
affect the market value of the improvements, i.e., bathrooms,
interior and exterior trim, floors finish, type of roofing
-
Compare all data collected about a property to all similar
properties by using a CAMA system (Computer-Assisted Mass
Appraisal) that contains the property characteristics of all
land and buildings in Davidson County
Classify
-
Establish the classification or "use category" for each property
which will be used to determine the assessment level for
taxation of a property
Tennessee law establishes the
following assessment levels for different property classes:
Residential ... 25%
Commercial and Industrial ... 40%
Farm ... 25%
Exempt ... 0%
Public Utility ... 55%
Personal Property ... 30%
Value
- Use
three basic rules incorporated by the entire appraisal profession to
determine the valuation of real property:
Market:
Comparison of a property to other properties with similar
characteristics that have recently been sold
Cost:
Estimation of the replacement cost of a structure and
adjusting that estimate to account for depreciation
Income: Analysis of a property's value based on its
capacity to generate revenue for the owner
-
Estimate fair market value for all property in Davidson County,
as defined by different components of the real estate market,
i.e., selling prices for different types of properties, local
construction and repair costs, normal operating expenses,
typical rents, current financing charges for borrowing money to
build or buy property
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