The Dougherty County Board of Tax Assessors recently announced the appoint- ment of Joseph McPherson to Chief Tax Appraiser. McPherson will be succeeding George Anderson, who is re- tiring from Dougherty County after 31 years of service. The appointment will be effective May 1, 2021.

Since 2013, McPherson has served Dougherty County as a Residential Appraiser and was later promoted to Principle Appraiser assigned to appraising commercial properties throughout the county. Afterwards, he was pro- moted to Assistant Chief Appraiser. With over 13 years of experience in the appraisal field, eight of those years with the Dougherty County Tax Department, McPherson served for five years in the appraisal of residential and commercial properties in Atlanta, New Orleans, and Ohio for a mass appraisal firm based in Ohio.

“As Chief Appraiser, my goals are to make sure that the tax department is fully staffed and prepared to provide Ad Valorem tax services to the taxpayers of Dougherty County with courtesy and professionalism, to ensure that our appraisers and auditors are continually receiving quality training and meeting performance standards estab- lished by this department in accordance to the guidelines and regulations set forth by the Dougherty County Board of Tax Assessors and the Georgia Department of Revenue, as well as continue to uphold and maintain the public trust in the Dougherty County Tax Office,” said McPherson.

“We believe that Joseph’s experience is aligned well to fit our needs to do the job as Chief Appraiser of Dougherty County,” said William Ashberry, Chairman of the Dougherty County Board of Tax Assessors. “We be- lieve that Joseph will continue to provide great leadership and service to the citizens of Dougherty County.”

“We are excited for Joseph on his promotion as Chief Appraiser,” said Shonna Colley Josey, Tax Director for Dougherty County Tax and Tag Department. “He has been a great asset to the Dougherty County Tax Depart- ment and we believe he will do a wonderful job in his new position as Chief Appraiser.”

McPherson holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Hampton University, Hampton, Virginia, and a master’s degree in Financial Planning from Bentley University, Waltham Massachusetts.