Clarke County’s ad valorem tax collections have grown by almost $4 million since 2020, according to figures presented by Revenue Commissioner Tyler Prescott during Tuesday’s county commission meeting in Grove Hill. Prescott told commissioners that the steady climb reflects both rising property values and stepped-up efforts within his office to collect taxes that are owed.
The report offered commissioners a rare long-range look at the county’s financial footing, comparing collections across five tax years and breaking down where each dollar of the 2025 total went. For a rural county where property taxes underpin most local government operations, the figures carried weight well beyond the meeting room.
A Steady Five-Year Climb
Prescott reported that the county collected $15,895,569.34 in ad valorem taxes for the 2025 tax year, up from $11,921,506.44 in 2020. Ad valorem taxes, which are levied based on the assessed value of real and personal property, fund a wide range of local services, and the year-over-year increase Prescott described has been gradual rather than the result of any single change.
The commissioner attributed the growth to two forces working in the same direction. Assessments have tracked rising property values across the county, reflecting both new construction and appreciation in existing homes and commercial buildings. At the same time, his office has intensified its pursuit of delinquent accounts, a commitment commissioners themselves highlighted during the meeting.
In Alabama, ad valorem taxes are collected by county revenue offices and distributed according to state law, with shares earmarked for county general funds, boards of education and the state. Clarke County’s growth mirrors a pattern seen across south Alabama in recent years, where rising valuations and steady industrial and residential investment have lifted collections even as the underlying millage rates have remained unchanged.
How the Revenue Is Distributed
Of the total collected for 2025, Clarke County itself received $4,440,770.07, while Clarke County and Thomasville schools together were allocated $7,804,820.58. The State of Alabama’s share came to $2,709,925.30. The Alabama Forestry Commission also received $70,356.74 from timber tax collections, a category tied to the county’s significant timberland acreage.
The education share is the largest single destination for property tax dollars in Clarke County, a pattern consistent with counties across Alabama, where school boards depend heavily on local ad valorem revenue to supplement state funding. For the county general fund, the collections support sheriff’s deputies, road crews, elections and the other basic machinery of county government.
Timber taxes occupy a distinct place in a county like Clarke, which sits within one of the most heavily forested regions of the state. Timberland in south Alabama is a working landscape — harvested, replanted and managed across generations — and the severance and ad valorem taxes tied to it flow to state forestry programs alongside local government.
Beyond the required disbursements, Prescott noted that county taxpayers voluntarily contributed $525.12 to the local firefighter fund and $599.77 to the rescue squad through optional donations included on their tax bills. The amounts are small in dollar terms, but Prescott and commissioners have pointed to them as a barometer of community support for volunteer emergency services, which in rural Alabama depend heavily on donations.
His office additionally brought in $13,571.50 in interest charged on late tax payments and $14,899.56 in late fees and penalties, revenue generated from taxpayers who did not meet payment deadlines. Those charges, Prescott noted, are intended less as a revenue source than as an incentive to pay on time, since the money owed on delinquent accounts ultimately funds the same schools and county services as taxes paid promptly.
Thomasville Medical Center Properties Sold at Auction
Prescott told commissioners that the only unpaid tax properties auctioned this year were tied to the shuttered Thomasville Regional Medical Center. Clarke County itself purchased those properties at the tax sale and is now earning 12 percent interest on roughly $100,000 in outstanding bills. The county will continue collecting that interest unless and until a new buyer for the hospital properties emerges and the debt is settled.
The arrangement is a common feature of Alabama’s tax sale process. When no private buyer steps forward at auction, the county itself takes title, protecting the revenue owed while the property awaits a future sale. The 12 percent annual interest the county earns on outstanding tax bills gives local government a return on money that might otherwise sit uncollected for years.
Thomasville Regional Medical Center’s closure left one of the county’s largest buildings and its associated properties off the tax rolls and owing back taxes, making it the year’s most consequential item in the revenue office’s delinquent account. A future sale of the hospital campus would return the properties to productive use and eventually restore them to the tax base.
Office Hosts Statewide Gathering, Staff Earn Recognition
Prescott also highlighted a professional milestone for his office: in March, the Clarke County Revenue Commissioner’s office hosted the Association of Alabama Tax Administrators meeting, drawing more than 100 attendees from across the state. Prescott said the gathering went well enough that Clarke County has already been chosen to host the event again in 2027.
Hosting a statewide association meeting in Grove Hill is unusual for a county of Clarke’s size, and Prescott presented it as a point of pride for the office and the county. The association’s meetings bring together revenue officials from all 67 counties to trade guidance on assessments, collections and changes in state law, and the return engagement in 2027 gives Clarke County a recurring showcase among its peers.
On staffing, Prescott reported that Beverly Martin recently earned property tax support personnel certification, a credential he said had not been held by anyone in the county revenue office in many years. The certification involves coursework and testing through the state’s professional development programs for revenue office staff.
Brianna Hawk was promoted to deputy revenue commissioner following the retirement of longtime employee Marlene Davis. Davis, in turn, has stayed on to help train Bryanna Bolden, who is taking over personal property tax responsibilities. Bolden has completed several required courses on personal property taxation and is continuing additional coursework.
The transition reflects a broader challenge facing rural county offices across Alabama, where decades-long employees are retiring and knowledge that once lived informally in the office must be deliberately passed on. Prescott told commissioners that having Davis remain through the transition was a benefit the office could not have arranged on short notice.
Commissioners Commend Collection Efforts
County commissioners used the meeting to publicly credit Prescott for his role in growing collections and pursuing delinquent accounts. Commission Chairman Jackie Ray Rush told Prescott, “Mr. Prescott has helped this county tremendously.”
Commissioner Rondel Rhone pointed to Prescott’s personal effort in tracking down unpaid taxes, telling him, “You have gotten in your personal vehicle and burned your personal gas to go hunt people” regarding delinquent tax bills. The remark, made in the spirit of commendation, underscored how unusual the revenue commissioner’s hands-on approach to collections has been — revenue offices more typically rely on notices, tax sales and outside collection processes to chase delinquent accounts.
Commissioners noted that every dollar recovered from delinquent bills flows to the same schools, roads and emergency services funded by taxes paid on time, meaning collection efforts translate directly into services without raising anyone’s rate. In a county with a modest tax base, they said, that diligence makes a measurable difference year over year.
The revenue commissioner’s report comes as Clarke County, like many rural Alabama counties, continues to rely heavily on property tax revenue to fund schools, county government operations and local emergency services. Alabama’s reliance on property taxes for local government is among the strongest in the nation, and rural counties feel that dependence most acutely because they lack the sales tax base of larger cities.
Prescott’s presentation offered commissioners a detailed accounting of where that money originates and how it is ultimately distributed across the county. With collections up nearly $4 million over five years, staff certifications earned, a statewide meeting coming back to Grove Hill in 2027 and the county holding the former hospital properties while earning interest on the debt, the revenue office left the meeting with the kind of report commissioners said few counties of Clarke’s size can match.
Officials also used the discussion to remind residents of the practical deadlines that govern their bills. Ad valorem taxes in Alabama become due each October and delinquent after December 31, and once accounts go delinquent, interest and penalty charges begin to accrue. Taxpayers with questions about assessments, exemptions or payment options are encouraged to contact the revenue commissioner’s office in Grove Hill before the delinquency date rather than after, when the cost of catching up grows.
Commissioners closed the item by thanking the revenue office staff by name for the year’s results, noting that the certifications, promotions and training moves reported by Prescott position the office to maintain its collection record as retirements continue. The board took no formal action on the report, but members said they expected the office’s growth in collections to continue as assessments and diligence both trend upward.