Loading...
042585MINUTES RANDOLPH COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS April 25, 1985 The Randolph County Board of Commissioners met for a public hearing at 7:00 p.m., April,25, 1985 in the Asheboro High School auditorium. The purpose of the meeting was to hear grievances from the Concerned Taxpayers of Randolph County relative to the recent revaluation. Commissioners Frye, Comer, Davidson, and Langley were present. Commissioner Petty was absent. Chairman Darrell Frye introduced the Commissioners, county manager, county attorney, tax supervisor, and clerk to the Board. He also introduced special guests Doug Holbrook, Director of the Ad Valorem Tax Division, Department of Revenue, from Raleigh, and Stan Duncan, appraisal specialist, Department of Revenue, from Raleigh. Chairman Frye explained that counties are mandated by state law to have a revaluation every eight years in order to establish uniformity of values, which are set at market price. Market price is defined as being the price at which property changes hands with a willing seller and buyer, neither being under constraint to sell or buy. There are 15 reappraisal firms in North Carolina approved by the State. R. G. Rowland -Appraisals won the bid for doing the revaluation at $1.1 million. Rowland is a well-known, experienced firm with a good reputation. It_was:.decided;that our—: tax department's expertise, records, and manpower could be utilized for much of the preliminary revaluation work, thus reducing the total cost to $233,000. In January, 1982, the notification process began. In March, 1982, R. G. Rowland began. In May, 1984, the Commissioners held a public hearing and adopted the uniform schedule of values manual. ; In 1947 a local bill was passed-tn,'the General Assembly for Randolph County calling for a tax commission and a board of equalization and review. Randolph is the only county to operate this way. The chairman of the county commissioners serves as chairman of the equalization and review board and;two members at large, who also make"up the tax._commission:;,complete the equalization and review board. In all other counties, the county commissioners act as the board of equalization and review. Jon Megerian, attorney representing the Concerned Taxpayers of Randolph County, addressed the Board of Commissioners. He explained that the organization first began. from a few farmers who felt their values had gone up too much. By word of mouth, the group grew and they had a meeting in Courtroom A to organize, retain council, and to see what could be done to straighten out the situation. They elected a committee to oversee the situation. Petitions were circulated throughout the county and over 4,600 signatures were obtained, calling for a public meeting with the Commissioners. Mr. Megerian itemized a list of grievances from the committee: .Many property owners had never seen anyone look at their property and don't know how their property could be appraised without a site visit. .When these property owners called to complain, they were told that the Tax Department could not visit every parcel. .Citizens were denied their rights because they were not informed of.-.theirrights to have an appriser do an on-site visit to determine property values. When this was brought to the Tax Department's attention, they sent out cards with this -,information, but by then the revaluation was over and the appraisers were no longer working in the county. .When citizens requested a hearing with the E & R Board, they weren't told how to do that or what the statute says about this process. Instead, they were given a form to complete which was too lengthy and asked for information the owners did not have or understand and which is not required by law. .The aerial photographs used have built-in inaccuracies which were not taken into .account. Commissioners Minutes April 25, 1985 Page 2 .The County provided very little education or explanation about the revaluation in general. The appraisal firm's contract said that they:.would be available to speak at civic groups, schools, etc., and they did not do this. .Market values are inaccurate. Some property owners' values have gone up 600%. Some were assessed for basements, buildings, etc. which they do not have. .The volume of appeals indicates that the revaluation is wrong. .The Concerned Taxpayers Committee has received nol.response from the Commissioners. .Many parcels were given a set value per acre without taking into consideration the quality and nature of the land. There was a wide disparity between neighboring tracts! values. .The County,-has:.made the appeal process so complicated that they have intimated and .discouraged citizens from appealing. .The statute says that the uniform schedule of values manual should be easily understood by property owners. Mr. Megerian said that, even as a lawyer, he couldn't understand it. Mr. Megerian then offered some solutions to the inaccuracies and inequities outlined.. The simplest solution, he said, would be to lower property values across the board. This method would, however, create new problems. Therefore, a better solution would be to make use of the computerized information and get a list of every parcel that increased by a certain percentage and have the E & R.Board look at those. He suggested placing a capon the percentage increase allowed on any tract of land. He also suggested using horizontal revaluations, whereby all property within a certain geographical area is classified by type and values are adjusted accordingly. Mr. Megerian indicated that the citizens want a response from the Commissioners concerning their grievances within 30 days or a reasonable length of time. He told the audience that simplified appeal forms had been prepared by the committee and were available for anyone at the door, as were baskets for donations to underwrite the cost of attorney fees, mailings and other expenses incurred by the committee. Chairman Frye responded by saying that anyone who has requested a site visit is on the list to be visited. He stated that the contents of the property manual were derived from the sale of land in Randolph County and that representatives from the Farm Bureau, Dairy Farmers Association, Forestry, and others were represented at the meeting when the manual was adopted. Mr. Frye assured the audience that every request to the E & R Board will be heard and that those who have requested an appointment will not receive a tax bill until their case has been heard. Dr. Glasgow from Liberty spoke from the audience about the increase in valuation on his 226 acres. John Redding spoke concerning the county's elderly who do not understand or are intimidated by the appeal process. John Ferree spoke to say that he thought his revaluation was fair. Jon Megerian informed those present that if someone needed to appeal and could not do that on his own, the committee would do it for him. Chairman Frye declared the meeting closed.