“I have seen some� reassessments that rose by 500 to 600 percent, and “I have seen some in other jurisdictions that have done the same,� said Patrick County Administrator Jay Scudder. However, the average reassessment increase in Patrick County i
Source: Martinsville Bulletin, Dec. 3, 2008, page 1
While some property values in Patrick County jumped by 500 to 600 percent in the latest reassessment, tax bills may remain about the same when the tax rate is adjusted next spring.
“I have seen some� reassessments that rose by 500 to 600 percent, and “I have seen some in other jurisdictions that have done the same,� said Patrick County Administrator Jay Scudder.
However, the average reassessment increase in Patrick County is 76 percent, Scudder said.
Under state law, next year the Patrick County Board of Supervisors will have to roll back the tax rate to an amount that will lead to total real estate tax collections in fiscal 2010 of not more than 1 percent above total collections this year. If the board does not, it will have to in effect declare a tax increase, which would require a public hearing.
The current real estate tax rate is 55 cents per $100 of assessed value, Scudder said. He estimated the tax rate will fall to 32 cents per $100 of value when the rate is set next spring.
As a result, on residential land, “we could see people not pay as much tax even though the reassessment� increased, Scudder said.
The supervisors have changed the location of their Dec. 8 meeting to allow room for what is expected to be a large turnout, based on the number of people attending a recent supervisors’ meeting to express concerns about increased property values.
The meeting, which will begin at 6 p.m., will be held in the auditorium of Patrick County High School, Scudder said. The firm that conducted the reassessment will make a presentation to the board.
The most recent reassessment began about 18 months ago and was completed in November, he said.
“Like most counties or communities in Virginia, we have seen an overall increase in real estate values,� Scudder said. In many cases, the assessed value of raw land has realized a “substantial increase from what it was a few years ago,� he said.
Two reasons may account for the increase, Scudder said. He cited both the six-year time span between reassessments and the fact that “some information from the state� shows assessed values were too low in the first place. Additional details were not available on that Tuesday.
Scudder said the reassessment procedure is a legal process required by state code. Reassessments are to be conducted every six years.
That means “we have such a long period of time between reassessments and, depending on how the previous reassessments turned out,� Scudder said it is possible that reassessments on some properties may have increased only a nominal amount in 12 years.
It is common for concerns to arise following a reassessment, Scudder said.
Property owners who feel increases are not justified can file an appeal and be heard by the Board of Equalization, Scudder said. That is a volunteer board appointed by the circuit court.
Article prepared by Debbie Hall of the Bulletin