Press release from Buncombe County Government:
At its regular meeting on July 19, the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners heard updates and recommendations from the Ad Hoc Reappraisal Committee and the Buncombe County Tax Assessor about the Buncombe County reappraisal process.
In September 2021, the Buncombe County Board of Commissioner established the Ad Hoc Reappraisal Committee after hearing resident concerns following the 2021 Reappraisal. The committee was made up of eight county residents including representatives of the Board of Equalization & Review, a real estate professional, an equity representative, and at-large community members. The committee received more than 1,200+ responses to a community survey, collaborated to provide guidance on improving future assessment processes, and provided input into equity concerns.
Equity was a key theme of the committee’s work, and the goals of this committee aligned with the County’s Racial Equity Action Plan, centering on three focus areas:
•Identify homeowner concerns about the reappraisal process
•Provide guidance for future assessments
•Input into equity concerns“We don’t want to be over-assessing the most modest homes in the community that tend to be owned by the people of the most modest means,” said Board Chair Brownie Newman.
The recommendations come following a months-long process to develop actionable items in the following strategic areas:
•Develop assessment policies to optimize tax revenues
•Increase Capacity in Assessment Department
•Increase Education & Outreach
•Enhance Permitting Compliance“When we started this process last year, the intent was that the committee would take this deep dive and do the analysis that would inform our policy-making moving forward,” said Commissioner Jasmine Beach-Ferrara. “I continue to feel like a key part of our job is to be very dogged. If there are inequities there, how do we do our very best to prevent those inequities on the front end from showing up on the back end?”
The Board of Commissioners will take action on the recommendations at a future meeting.
Click here to view the Ad Hoc Reappraisal Committee recommendations.
Click here to view the recommendations from the Buncombe County Tax Assessor.
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