Murphy – Cherokee County commissioners who objected to recent property reappraisals found no support from the state agency that oversees property taxes.
Representatives from the N.C. Department of Revenue participated in a Zoom meeting with Cherokee County commissioners during a special called meeting held on June 21.
The representatives – Real Property Manager Doug Huffman and Property Tax Legal Adviser Steve Pelfrey – answered questions about recent property reappraisals that occurred after the countywide revaluation in 2020 and well before the next scheduled revaluation, which starts around 2026 and is scheduled for release in 2028.
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Some property owners, including Commissioner Jan Griggs, found changes in their property tax records that weren’t recorded in the 2020 reappraisal. The main question asked was, can Cherokee County Tax Assessor Teresa Ricks reassess the tax value of a home in-between the regularly scheduled revaluation periods?
As Commissioner Dan Eichenbaum phrased it, “Should assessors just wander around the county adding things?”
The main answer was, yes they can, but moreover, yes they should.
“The assessor is charged that all property in the county is taxed,” Huffman said, adding that if there is evidence of an inappropriate trend, his department might take a closer look.
Reappraisals between reappraisal years can be triggered by physical changes to a property, zoning changes or to address an error in a previous reappraisal, they said.
However, any reappraisal must take into account the schedule of values adopted by the Board of Commissioners at the most recent reappraisal period – in this case, from 2020. That means that appraisers have to compare property values that were relevant in 2020, not the more inflated property values that have occurred since then.
“The language is pretty broad,” Pelfrey said. “It’s anything that changes value except general economic conditions. If the overall market changes, the assessment is not supposed to make changes.”
Griggs’ property has undergone improvements that were not reflected in the 2020 reappraisal, Ricks has said, thus triggering another look that resulted in a higher value.
Commissioner Ben Adams described a case where a property value jumped by $200,000. He said there was no change to the property to trigger such an increase in value, but Pelfrey had his doubts.
“It’s possible, but there should be a reason,” Pelfrey said.
Property owners can always appeal any property reappraisals to the Cherokee County Board of Equalization when it is in session. Courts have determined that property owners can also be billed for back taxes owed from the increased value.
“It’s a harsh outcome, but that’s the outcome,” Pelfrey said.
Griggs asked if the state officials are telling property owners that their property value can go up at any time for any reason.
“Not just for any reason,” Huffman said. “If you build a house in 2023, it will be evaluated at the 2020 schedule of values.
“But if there is an error, yes, we can make that change.”
Even the best appraisals are going to miss details or have mistakes, Pelfrey said.
It could take a year and a half to reassess an entire county, Pelfrey added, so he advised the county to create a systematic approach to ensure that properties aren’t missed during the process.