Commissioners chair explains appeal process

The Feb. 9 meeting of the Rockingham County Board of Commissioners heard from a number of citizens who are very much concerned about the county’s ongoing property revaluation. These citizens expressed concern that the values placed on their individual properties were too high and that in these difficult economic times they could not afford to pay higher taxes. These citizens were asking to be treated fairly and that their local government act responsibly and listen to the circumstances and needs of its citizens.
Certainly, each commissioner is dedicated to being fair, responsible and responsive in this very difficult task of property valuation. We have already initiated the process of systematically reviewing the questions raised at Monday’s meeting and are working closely with the tax administrator and her staff to make sure that accuracy and fairness is the goal of the informal review process.  We will review and evaluate its effectiveness in addressing the individual concerns of our citizens as we move forward.
Currently, the Tax Office has received 6,382 notices of appeal and is utilizing a staff of six appraisers and four support staff to complete field reviews for each individual appeal. Also, a large volume of questions from telephone calls and walk-ins are being answered by appraisal staff. The number of appeals is consistent with the number of appeals, which were orderly processed in 1999 and 2003 during our most recent revaluations. 
We ask our citizens to please keep in mind that if they do not feel their tax value has been accurately set that they should send in their notice of appeal if they have not already done so. They should do this without delay, even if they have missed the initial 20-day deadline. 
Neither the Tax Department nor the commissioners want any property owner to receive an unfair value. In fact, the whole purpose of the revaluation is to make sure that property owners have a fair value on their property, which is neither unfairly high nor unfairly low when compared to other citizens. Without the process, citizens, whose properties are not increasing in value, will continue to unfairly pay a portion for other citizens whose value has increased at a faster rate. 
We thank all of our citizens for their patience and input in helping us achieve our legal and ethical duty to attain an equitable tax valuation for all the citizens of the county.  Please be assured that we are diligently working as commissioners with our county staff to accomplish this and that we will make available within the next few days more information to address the concerns and questions that have been raised. 

Amelia Dallas chairs the Rockingham County Board of Commissioners.