Davidson County Assessor

General information

In Section 557 et seq. of the Code of 1858, provision was made for the Tax Assessors for each Civil District of the counties, and their duties and functions were set in those sections of the Code. By Section 9, Chapter 602 of the Public Acts of 1907, “The General Law for the Assessment and Collection of Taxes in the State of Tennessee,” the Legislature abolished these District Assessors and created the office of County Assessor, and it had the clear right to do since neither office was created or mentioned in the Constitution of 1870.

The Act of 1907, which created the Office of Country Tax Assessor, placed the counties of the State in two-classes, as far as the compensation of their Assessors was concerned. Counties of the first act were specified on a population basis, and the amount of the salary of each Assessor was fixed by the Legislative Act. The second class, designated by the inclusive pro-vision “all other counties,” were authorized to fix the salary of their Assessors under a prescribed maximum by resolution of their respective County Courts.

Until the Constitutional Amendment of 1978, the Office of County Tax Assessor was not a Constitutional Office but a creature of the Legislature. The creator could fix and amend the incidents of the office at will, so long as it did so by acts that were in form not subject to constitutional objection, and so long as constitutional rights of individuals were not curtailed. (See Tennessee Code Annotated Section 67-301 et seq. for term of office and date of election.)

The Constitutional Amendment of 1978 made the Office of County Tax Assessor a Constitutional Office. However, that amendment provided that the qualifications and duties of the Tax Assessor should be prescribed by the General Assembly. Therefore, while the Office of County Tax Assessor could not be abolished by the Legislature, the incidents of the office might still be fixed and amended by the Legislature, as was the case prior to the Constitutional Amendment.

In 2008, Public Chapter No. 971, House Bill No. 3218, by the Secretary of State directed the Code Commission to change all reference of “Tax Assessors” to Assessors of Property,” thereby signaling a change of the official name of the office.

The following have served as Assessors of Property for Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee:
John E. Binns 1907-1912
Jesse Webb 1912-1920
Joseph P. McCord 1920-1944
C. Orrie Thompson 1944-1960
Clifford Allen 1960-1975
Jim Ed Clary 1975-1992
Jo Ann North 1992-2008
George L. Rooker Jr. 2008-2016
Vivian M. Wilhoite 2016-present