Tagged: Mecklenburg County Assessor

Mecklenburg County is trying to fill 15 seats on the Board of Equalization and Review. That's the group responsible for hearing property tax appeals. It's a job that comes with a lot of criticism – particularly this last year as the board was inundated with appeals to the flawed 2011 revaluation. So why would anyone want the job? 

First off, the hours can be a bear.

Mecklenburg County residents who've paid too much property tax these last few years because of the botched 2011 revaluation will get refunds . . . eventually. But legislation unveiled today to fix the problems also would result in a bill for back taxes for property that was undervalued.

Cornelius homeowner Bob Deaton expects to get a refund. He and his neighbors were the first to organize against the 2011 Mecklenburg County property revaluation as soon as they got their new tax bills two years ago.

The Mecklenburg County Commission stopped short of ordering a complete re-do of the 2011 Property Tax Revaluation, but they took enough steps to satisfy some critics – for now. 

The immediate winner in all of this is Pearson's Appraisal Service. The firm was hired by the county to do a $250,000 four-month review of the 2011 Revaluation. Now it's been tasked with fixing the problems it found – which will likely take another year and earn the firm several times its original fee.

The tax assessor who oversaw Mecklenburg County's much-maligned 2011 revaluation is out. County Commissioners announced Tuesday night that assessor Garrett Alexander has resigned, but they put off a final decision on how to handle problems with the revaluation. 

It was an awkward night for County Manager Harry Jones. Eight months ago he was adamant the revaluation did not need reexamining.