Vance County commissioners are divided on the issue of how often to conduct a property reappraisal and revaluation – state law requires the revaluation occur at least every 8 years, but many counties have opted to have them more often.
According to Commissioner Sean Alston, only about 20 percent of the state’s 100 counties – 22 counties – are on an 8-year cycle.
Wake County, for example, does a reval every two years, but others have chosen to be on four- or six-year cycles.
But local commissioners do not, so far, anyway, see eye to eye on what the frequency should be.
It was a topic of discussion at the June 13 budget work session, and at that time, the commissioners agreed on tabling the discussion for now and revisting it next year.
Commissioner Sean Alston said the county didn’t need to wait 8 years for the next revaluation. Judging from citizens’ responses to the most recent revaluation, many were surprised at the jump in property values.
Having revals more often “reduces the shock value,” said Commissioner Archie Taylor. “Our community was shocked this time,” Taylor said.
Commissioner Leo Kelly said he leans toward revals every four or six years. “The real estate market is volatile,” Kelly said.
The cost of a revaluation right now is in the neighborhood of $700,000, a figure that Commission Chair Dan Brummitt balked at shelling out more often than every eight years.
Alston and Kelly, however, said spending the money for more frequent reappraisals could reap benefits – in addition to not overwhelming property owners with large increases, more frequent revals could put the county in a position where it could return to a revenue-neutral rate, maybe even lower, said Kelly.
In arriving at consensus on the 10-cent tax increase per $100 valuation, Taylor said he didn’t want to pay the higher tax bill, but he was willing to do so.
“I want my county and my community I live in to get better,” he said.
Alston said the county can’t keep “using Band-aids” to create temporary fixes. “We’re running out of Band-aids…we have to have growth.”
The Vance County Board of Commissioners is scheduled to meet at 4 p.m. on Monday, June 24 and could formally adopt the FY2024-25 budget at that time.
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