More than 350 revaluation appeals have been filed with the Macon County Tax Office as a growing number of property owners aim to contest the newly assessed value of their land.
During the Feb. 21 Board of Commissioners meeting, Chair Paul Higdon asked that County Manager Derek Roland and Macon County Tax Administrator Abby Braswell give an update on the once-every-four-years revaluation, saying it’s a “hot button issue.”
Property revaluation notices went out in the mail in February. As explained by Higdon, Roland and Braswell, this is not a property tax increase, but rather revaluation of property. The property tax rate will be determined by the county commissioners in the 2023-24 budget; the new fiscal year begins July 1. The current property tax rate is 40 cents per $100 valuation.
Roland and Braswell said that after the mass appraisals of 44,131 parcels in Macon County, the property values went up around an average of 58%.
Braswell told the commissioners that as of that night (Feb. 21), they had received 150 appeals so far with 34 phone calls to return. Braswell stressed patience, saying people might not be called back within the 72 hours promised on the tax office’s answering machine.
In a Feb. 27 follow up, that number had jumped up to 358 appeals. The values of the 358 properties totaled $201 million. Braswell said on Feb. 21 that in some of the appeals people are arguing that their property value should be higher.
Previously, Braswell said there were around 35 appeals in 2019 and 300 in 2015.
Braswell said in January the value of all taxable land in Macon County had gone up from the $7.98 billion from the last revaluation in 2019 to $12.636 billion in 2023. The $201 million means that so far, 1.59% of the taxable land in Macon County is being appealed by its owners.
Roland said that the revenue neutral rate, which is what the property tax rate would be in the new fiscal year to bring in the same amount of revenue as the previous fiscal year, won’t be determined until the appeals are finished. If the roughly 58% average property tax increase holds after the review process, that means the revenue neutral tax rate will be lower than the current 40 cents per $100 valuation.
The Franklin Town Council also discussed the revaluation and tax rate at its Feb. 18 retreat. Town Manager Amie Owens said the value of properties in the city limits increased by an average of 35.92%. The town’s current tax rate is 35 cents per $100 valuation; which was an increase from 32 cents the previous year.
Like the county, the town departments are working on their budgets for the coming fiscal year, however the mayor and the council members were not ready to talk tax rate numbers.
Mayor Jack Horton said he preferred to wait until they know what they need to meet the town’s obligations and operations.
“The job of government is to decide what you want to do then you set the millage rate to get revenue,” he said.
Council member David Culpepper said they need to look at what it takes to run the departments effectively and then determine what the tax rate is.
The town will hold its first budget work session on April 17.
Revaluation appeals process
If you want to appeal the revaluation of your property, March 13 is the deadline for the first appeals process.
A form is available on the county website at maconnc.org (click Tax Department under the County Agencies tab). Appeals also may be dropped off at the Tax Office in the Courthouse. Appeals are not taken over the phone.
If an appellant doesn’t like the decision of the tax office’s appraisers or missed the first appeals round, they can appeal to the 2023 Board of Equalization and Review at dates to be determined at a later date.
The commissioners unanimously approved Braswell’s recommendations to appoint Dwight Vinson, Gary Drake, Kristine Flaig, Donald Holland and Richard Lightner to serve on that five-person board. Commissioner Josh Young said those five are “more than qualified” to serve and Higdon said that board has “a lot of hours ahead of them.”
Braswell said the meeting dates for that board will be determined in the next week or so. Decisions by the Board of Equalization and Review can be appealed to the state Property Tax Commission, which issues a final ruling.