By By BETTY MITCHELL GRAY
Staff Writer
The economy and its effects on county government were on the minds Monday night of the members of the Beaufort County Board of Commissioners.
Board members learned that slow real-estate sales in 2009 have caused unprecedented delays in the mailing of new property-valuation forms — known as Real Estate Assessed Value for 2010. The valuation notices will not be mailed until late February or early March.
The commissioners began staking out their positions on the county budget for fiscal year 2010-2011.
County Tax Assessor Bobby Parker and revaluation appraisers, who met with the commissioners, said they are conducting some 10,000 reviews of property values as a result of recent real-estate transactions, which continue to show declining property values for some types of homes and land.
“We want to make sure the values are not in excess,” Parker said. “We want to be careful that we have the best market value we can as of Jan. 1, 2010.”
Revaluation notices could be mailed to property owners as late as early March, Parker said, noting that in 2002, following the most recent revaluation, notices were mailed so taxpayers would receive them by Jan. 1 of that year.
State law requires that property be appraised for taxation at 100 percent of its fair market value at least once every eight years. Beaufort County’s revaluation comes during an economic downturn. Despite that fact, most homes and land in Beaufort County will increase in value over those recorded in 2002 when property was last revalued, according to county officials.
“There are some taxpayers who are going to be upset,” said Commissioner Al Klemm.
Parker replied, “A few, yes.”
The good news for Beaufort County property owners is that, although their property values will increase, their property tax rate — now at $.60 per $100 of property value — will likely fall, which is in line with the county’s pledge to keep the tax rate revenue neutral after revaluation.
The new tax rate will depend on several factors — the growth in the county’s tax base on existing property as a result of revaluation, growth in the tax base as a result of new construction and new equipment purchases and losses in the tax base as a result of taxpayers who feel their new tax values are too high, said County Manager Paul Spruill.
The commissioners won’t know some of these figures — such as the total losses in the tax base as a result of taxpayer appeals — until after the 2010-2011 fiscal-year budget and the new tax rate are set. So, some of their budget decisions will have to be based on best guesses.
This led Commissioner Hood Richardson to say that it’s time the county stopped borrowing money from its fund balance to offset appropriation shortfalls.
“Is it good public policy for Beaufort County to continue to use $2 million from its fund balance?” Richardson said. “I want the commissioners to consider as a policy matter whether or not we want to dip into our fund balance to balance the budget this year.”
“There’s a lot of risk out there. What if the county had an unanticipated emergency?” he said. “Why do you want to take this risk?”
In other business, the board:
• Approved by a 5-2 vote a resolution presented by Commissioner Stan Deatherage calling on the state to sue for “equal protection under the law and parity with other known and unknown states that received such excessive and special compensation as payment for their votes in respect to the Health Care Reform Bill.” Commissioners Jerry Langley and Ed Booth cast the dissenting votes.
Deatherage said he is concerned that some other states were improperly given incentives to ensure passage of health-care reform and that those incentives will cost North Carolina taxpayers.
His original resolution was changed on request of Klemm to insert the word “illegal” in one section of the resolution and at the request of Commissioner Robert Cayton who said the measure before Congress could result in an unfunded mandate to the states which could be passed down to the counties.
“I am in favor of health-care reform, but I am not in favor of health-care reform that is going to hurt the people of North Carolina,” he said. “When you pass unfunded mandates on to the counties, you hurt the poorest counties. When you hurt the poorest counties, you hurt the very people health-care reform is trying to help.”
• Unanimously accepted bids totaling $19,900 for five foreclosed properties in Belhaven.
• Approved by a 6-1 vote travel expenses in the amount of $3,257.10. Richardson cast the sole dissenting vote.
• Unanimously approved an amendment to the Beaufort County Department of Social Services’ budget to reflect new funding and expenses for energy assistance for Beaufort County residents.
• Made the following animal-control appointments: Sandra Woolard and Todd Taylor as animal-cruelty investigators and Woolard to oversee disposition of dead animals.
• Unanimously approved tax refunds requested from Parker in the amount of $224.26 to Buster Manning and $405.54 to Paul Minor.
All commissioners attended the meeting.