How much is your property really worth?
County revaluations of property starts this year
By Frank Bradley Staff writer

Property reevaluation, motel tax, county transportation and a report on the Community In Schools program were the main issues taken up at last Thursday's regular monthly county board of commissioners meeting.

If you feel the taxes you pay on your property is too much because your property is overvalued at the county tax office, you'll soon have a chance to get it corrected.

All property in Clay County is due for reevaluation for 2010. Since it takes two years to complete the reevaluation, that means work will begin by an appraiser sometime this spring and will continue until completed

two years from now. The board of commissioners had earlier requested bids from contractors who wished to conduct the county's reevaluation, which is currently required every eight years.

On Thursday, Nancy Kimsey, the county appraiser, told the board that four bids had been submitted. The lowest bidder was Assessment Solutions for $392,500. Their proposal did not provide sufficient documentation to indicate they could provide the service the county requires, according to Kimsey. The next low bidder was

Tyler Technology whose bid came in at $384,500; however that cost did not provide for informal appeals, and there was an extra projected cost of $250 a day, estimated to run between $40,000 and $50,000 for a board of Equalization and Review.

The highest appraisal bidder was Ford Appraisal who did the county 's appraisals in 2002; their bid was for $427,500.

The other appraisal bidder was Pearson Appraisal of Wilson, N. C., which bid $402,000. Kimsey said Pearson supplied complete resumes of those who would be doing the work and had been the most interactive with the county. Consequently, they were the contractor recommended to do the work and were selected by the board of commissioners to handle the job, subject to contract approval by the county attorney.

The county estimates there will be about 15,000 parcels of real property in Clay County by the time the reevaluation is completed. The cost is expected to come to $26.80 per parcel.

County Manager Paul Leek explained that money has been set aside each year in the budget to fund the reevaluation. The county will provide the contractor office space at no charge.

There was some discussion by the board about having the appraisal work done in-house. It was agreed by the members that there was not enough time for the 2010 Reevaluation to hire additional personnel, train them, get the software needed and so forth, but that if the state requires county's to do Revaluations every four years, which it is expected to do, then it would make a lot of sense to handle them in-house.

"Having them (reevaluations) every four years would mean less sticker shock," Chairman Hubert Cheeks said.

In other matters, the commissioners agreed to provide $1,500 for a seven-county regional study to look into matters affecting these western counties; to pursue a grant to purchase travel trailers to be position at the schools to collect recyclable paper to be bundled and taken to a recycling center.

Commissioner Harry Jarrett proposed reactivating a county planning board.

"Most counties have one," he said. "We don't. I think it would be of value to us a commissioners to look ahead."

Cheeks agreed saying there was a need to look into the broad aspects of development.

"There needs to be a broad make-up of people with different outlooks," he said. "In developing plans for the county, I think this is very important."

County Manager Paul Leek reported to the commissioners that painting at the new jail was 65% complete. He said the parking lot would be completed this week and that work was progressing on the kitchen and the electrical work.

He also reported that the slab had been poured on the new DOT facility, and they would soon be laying blocks.

He said he had contacted BRMEMC concerning the lighting at the recreation park, and that they would be getting on it in a couple of weeks.

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