NATCHEZ — Stine Lumber Company has an opinion. Tax Assessor Reynolds Atkins has an opinion. Now, the Adams County Board of Supervisors wants a third opinion.

The board voted Monday to seek the opinion of a third-party property value assessor after Atkins stood his ground on what he said he believed was the correct taxable value for the Stine property on U.S. 61 South.

Atkins has assessed the property to be worth $7 million, while Stine contends the property is worth only $4.2 million.

The county appraisal for the property was valued at half of what Stine paid for the property, Atkins said.

“I felt like in essence he paid too much,” Atkins said.

But the building on the property had to be factored into the tax bill, and Atkins said he based the tax value on what it cost for the building to be built.

The problem, Stine President Dennis Stine said, is that the building isn’t worth what Atkins based it on.

“There is a complete disconnect between construction cost and a completed building value,” Stine said.

To prove that, Stine produced a property value assessment by Stine Company’s bank made when the building was 40 percent complete.

“I could not mortgage this property based on the cost of what it took to build it,” Stine said.

Atkins said he respected the abilities of the other appraiser, but he also knew what he was doing.

“I made my first appraisal in 1959,” he said. “I didn’t just ride up on a donkey. I am saying I hope you will show confidence in my opinion.”

Even if the Stine appraisal is correct, standard ethics procedures bar him from using the bank appraisal for a property tax appraisal, Atkins said.

And Atkins had a word of warning for the supervisors.

“You can change any appraisal I have,” Atkins said. “The only thing I would warn you about is if you go to changing appraisals made by my office, you are going to open a can of worms.

“When August comes, you are going to have 100 people up here wanting to change their appraisal.”

August is the deadline for citizens to protest the assessed value for their property.

After the board voted to get a third opinion from an unbiased, out-of-town appraiser, Supervisor Mike Lazarus said it is important for the county to appear business friendly.

“If we get an appraisal that is a lot less, then that’s what (Stine) should have to pay,” Lazarus said.

Stine has already paid the $175,000 tax bill that came with Atkins’ assessment, but $72,000 of that was paid in protest, which places it in a county escrow account until the matter is settled.