MAY 21, 2009 ISSUE
Watauga County Effectively Postpones Revaluation
Decision Underscores Local Effect of Economic Downturn
Acknowledging the slumping real estate market at the local, state and national levels, the Watauga County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday, by consensus, directed Watauga County Tax Administrator Kelvin Byrd to cease all current actions for preparing the scheduled 2010 property tax revaluation, effectively deferring the process for one to four years. The commissioners then asked Watauga County Manager Rocky Nelson to create a resolution stating the deferral from the current four-year revaluation schedule with a space for the number of years left blank. The commissioners will decide how long the revaluation will be postponed later this year and fill in the blank.
“At the moment, official action has not been taken to postpone,” said Nelson.
Board Chair Jim Deal explained that the commissioners have discussed whether or not to hold the revaluation in 2010 after speaking with area brokers who claim it has become increasingly difficult to find comparable home prices in certain areas of Watauga County.
“In order to do a revaluation, we have to have sufficient enough sales in each section of the county so current values can be set—not just for the county, but we need them for each area [of the county],” said Deal. “So, we asked Byrd’s opinion to see if we had enough sales to do a fair revaluation. It’s supposed to be fair, that’s why we are looking at this.”
Byrd explained that in North Carolina revaluations are statutorily mandated, or required, every eight years, though counties can decide to perform them more frequently. Revaluations are used in determining overall tax value for the county and for determining the property-tax rate for the county budget.
In 2002, Byrd explained, Watauga County moved to a four-year cycle to eradicate any “sticker shock” homeowners may have experienced during times of intense growth in the local real estate market. Byrd, though, echoed what the commissioners heard from local brokers: recently there have been few property sales and therefore a schedule of values would be difficult to create.
“As it seems at the moment, the revaluation will come in dead even with what was seen in [the revaluation in] 2006,” said Byrd.
“Our home values are not rapidly appreciating like they did in 2002 and 2006,” said Deal.
Byrd told the commissioners that it would be better to make the decision to postpone the revaluation sooner rather than later, as work has already begun on the project with the help of a consultant. Postponing the revaluation will credit the county with $108,000 in the 2009-10 budget.
“If we did do the revaluation, whatever values come out will be very difficult to defend,” added Byrd.
After hearing from Byrd, Board Vice Chair Billy Ralph Winkler said that, while he initially favored the revaluation, he now is leaning the other way.
“The bottom line is that we’ve got to have enough sales in each region of the county to find comparable values,” said Deal. “It’s an issue of fairness and getting it right. We need good data to go on and we just don’t have it.”
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