Fair market value and school taxes

Question: (1) Who decides what the “fair market value” of district resident properties will be? (2) I understand that this may have been the reason many of us saw our school taxes rise 22% instead of the 12% that was voted for. (3) As a follow-up, why are residents not advised that their fair market value has been increased before they receive their tax bill? (4) Also, how do you account for an increase in fair market value when property values in Fulton County have dropped as well as home sales?

Answer: These are very good questions, which I’ll answer, in detail, one at a time. But first I want to point out that parts of the questions relate to things (land assessments, equalization rates, STAR exemptions) that the school district has no control over. That said, I’ll try to answer each question to the best of my ability.