Town of Cornelius: County Reval Gave Us The Shaft; UPDATE II: Full steam ahead for appeals
Cornelius Mayor Jeffery Tarte, at the direction of and on behalf of the Cornelius Town Board, this week fired a shot across the bow of Mecklenburg County’s revaluation process, giving official voice to simmering frustrations from homeowners who think they’ve been dealt “the short end of the stick.”
In a letter to Mecklenburg Commissioners Chairman Harold Cogdell and the chairman of the county’s Board of Equalization and Review (BER), Tarte writes, “The Cornelius Board urgently requests that a moratorium be immediately put into place of processing further revaluation appeals until all affected citizens are assured of due process, fair and equal treatment and adequate information to make informed decisions and present meaningful appeal petitions.”
The Cornelius Board, Tarte writes, has for months been hearing complaints from residents about both the revaluation and appeals process, listing seven pressing concerns that include: Drastically disparate assessed values between neighbors or within neighborhoods; conflicting or unclear information from the county on deadlines and when and how appeals may be made to the BER; and refusals to consider certified current appraisals as market value for tax purposes.
From Tarte’s letter:
In many respects it seems Cornelius residents, especially around the lake, have been getting the “short end of the stick” on these and other issues, but truthfully, what has been heard is so systemic and methodological that all County residents are being adversely impacted.
Mecklenburg County reset property values last year for the first time since 2003. Most home values rose, many by significant leaps, while about 35 percent of single-family homes saw some margin of decrease. The county received about 36,000 challenges to the new values and is currently wading its way through the appeals process.
Cogdell couldn’t immediately be reached for comment, but hints point to him being receptive to considering the Cornelius Board’s request. This from an email he sent to county staff and Commissioner Karen Bentley, whose north Mecklenburg district includes Cornelius:
I am open to hearing all perspectives on this matter. However, I believe we need to hear from our legal counsel and the Tax Assessor about the legal and practical implications of considering this request first. By way of this email, I am asking the appropriate county staff to be prepared to brief the broad (sic) at our meeting next week on the all (sic) relevant issues that should or must be considered if any three Commissioners seek to take action on this request at a future meeting. I do anticipate media coverage and I believe we all need to be equipped with accurate information.
Judging by the flood of complaints I’ve heard from homeowners concerned that the reval process produced a royal shafting, the only surprise about the Cornelius request is that they’re the only town making it.
Exit Question: What are the chances that the county board’s Democrat majority would risk any of the upwards of $70 million additional revenue they were able to reap from magic money beans, while claiming to have cut taxes, should reval numbers come in funky with a second look during a moratorium?
Yeah, that’s my guess, too.
UPDATE: Mecklenburg Commissioner Jennifer Roberts joins a volley of commissioners weighing in on the Cornelius Town Board’s request. The predominant theme picks up the fashionable progressive talking point of the moment – fairness and who gets to define it:
I will add that we need to take into account that other neighborhoods in the county have brought forward individual concerns similar to these. If we decide to alter the process in any way for any neighborhood–if it is legal or possible– we need to alter the process for all out of fairness. That could have far reaching impacts.
Mecklenburg County tax assessor Garrett Alexander, meanwhile, opines that commissioners don’t have the authority to stop the appeals process:
I would propose the BOCC [board of county commissioners] have the County Attorney respond, after the Board hears all the facts in the matter. The appeals process must run its course, and the BOCC is not provided the authority to stop it, or to give special consideration to some groups while the majority of the county citizens are treated differently.
While Commissioner George Dunlap seems to think all is well and good, as long as everybody is getting equally shafted. Or something:
How is it that some of you feel that simply because some folks disagree with the results of the process that you can put them in a special category and treat them differently. Follow the same process that you used for everyone else.
And Commissioner Bill James provides a unique twist on the Democrat “fairness” meme, noting an apparent hypocrisy that stands the argument on its head:
I would point out that the County is ALREADY treating some Mecklenburg citizens better than others. Certain parts of town received a ‘stigma adjustment’. These areas were predominantly African-American (so I was told). The term ‘Stigma’ was Mr. Alexander’s. I don’t think the Observer has EVER written about this though they knew about it early on.
Those homes were given an initial reduction over what the appraisal system assessed by up to 35% while other areas in the burbs did not receive the benefit of such a haircut. Doesn’t seem fair to me.
In revaluation there was a double standard applied (intentional or not). Certain areas were given a break and others were not. The areas given a break were predominately Democrat.
This could get real ugly, real quick.
UPDATE II: The county’s moving forward with appeals, fair or not. No choice, you see, because government officials can’t find “any specific statutory authority that addresses such a moratorium.”
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