WATCH: CCG Tax Appraiser Says Quiet Part Out Loud In Heated Unfiltered Comment
Property tax exemptions are a well-needed staple of our local economy that provide relief to the elderly, surviving spouses, disabled veterans, and many others. However, CCG’s Chief Appraiser, Suzanne Widenhouse, let her true feelings slip during a heated moment when placed on the spot at the June 27 council meeting. Explore the full story to watch your Chief Assessor say just about the one thing a tax assessor shouldn’t say on camera.
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An artistic expression of the Columbus Consolidated Government’s Chief Tax Appraiser, Suzanne Widenhouse, superimposed on a colorized image of the June 27 city council meeting. During the meeting, Widenhouse disturbingly stated during a heated unfiltered moment of stress that she is ‘not a fan of tax exemptions’ and that if she had her way there ‘wouldn’t be a single exemption available to anybody.’
Image Credit:
Muscogee Muckraker
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An artistic expression of the Columbus Consolidated Government’s Chief Tax Appraiser, Suzanne Widenhouse, superimposed on a colorized image of the June 27 city council meeting. During the meeting, Widenhouse disturbingly stated during a heated unfiltered moment of stress that she is ‘not a fan of tax exemptions’ and that if she had her way there ‘wouldn’t be a single exemption available to anybody.’
Image Credit:
Muscogee Muckraker
By
Muscogee Muckraker
Published
June 29, 2023
Updated
January 8, 2024 2:54 PM
ET
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COLUMBUS, Ga. — A heated and unfiltered moment of stress led to a wildly-revealing and disturbing series of comments from a city official during the recent city council meeting held on June 27.
During a fiery debate regarding council’s move to lower the property tax millage rate — which ultimately kept $7 million in the pockets of taxpayers — CCG’s Chief Tax Appraiser, Suzanne Widenhouse, revealed her true feelings about tax exemptions here in Muscogee County.
Tax exemptions are a well-needed and long-established staple of our local economy that provide relief to the elderly, surviving spouses, disabled veterans, and many others. You can read more about our county’s property tax exemptions through the Tax Assessor’s Exemptions website here.
Nonetheless, Widenhouse let her true colors bleed through when placed on-the-spot by council to provide answers she quite clearly did not want to provide.
Widenhouse's disturbing comments were as follows as she yelled at council members in an obvious moment of unfiltered stress:
“I’m not a fan of tax exemptions,” said the county’s Chief Tax Appraiser. “Personally, if it was up to me and I had my way, there wouldn't be a single exemption available to anybody; it’d make my life a whole lot easier.”
Fortunately for the citizens of Muscogee County, Widenhouse doesn't get her way. Her comments, however, revealed on their face her viciously-vehement personal bias against property tax exemptions.
Needless to say, that’s one of those things that a tax assessor probably shouldn’t even think, let alone ever say out loud — but she did.
To make matters worse, Widenhouse made her comments openly during a public city council meeting — on camera — leaving the entirety of her spat on the record forever.
Watch the video for yourself:
Facts are stubborn things — and we’ll keep publishing them, whether city officials like them or not.
Be sure to follow Muscogee Muckraker on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to see all the muck that’s fit to print as it breaks throughout the coming week.
