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Hudson, the BOA had originally valued house lots located in Amissville as being worth around $35,000 less than house lots everywhere else in the county. The BOE set the Amissville house lots to the same $100,000 as other county house lots. These two decisions are believed to account for what is perceived by many county residents to be an abnormally large amount of equalization this reassessment year.
“Those [adjustment] probably account for three quarters of the letters,” said Timbers
Assessing the
assessors
Once Supervisor Welch had broached the subject at Monday’s BOS meeting, Interim Piedmont District Supervisor Tom Taylor asked why the initial assessment by the BOA and Blue Ridge Mass Appraisals was so far off that it required 1500 corrections. That’s a question echoed by many Rappahannock citizens and the members of the Board of Equalization.
“[The Board of Assessors] did a poor job,” said BOE member Henry Hudson, who has served on previous Boards of Equalization. “We were appointed by the judge to make it equal, but sometimes we just had to do the best we could.”
Timbers, who has served on a previous Board of Assessors, feels that the BOA may have worked too fast, and therefore created a problem that the BOE had to solve.
“They were rushed,” said Timbers. “We’re just trying to make sure that everyone has been treated fairly and equally.”
Although Virginia law requires Boards of Assessors to finish their reports by December 31, this year’s BOA asked for and received an allowed extension to February. The BOA usually has one member from each district, but Jackson District Assessor Donald Brown resigned with 20 days left in office, leaving the BOA a man short. Whatever the cause of the disparity between the findings of the original Assessors and the Board of Equalization, unhappy Rappahannock taxpayers still have options.
The findings of the Board of Equalization can be appealed in court, and this year’s high taxes may elicit sympathy from the BOS in next year’s budget discussions. Discussion at Monday’s meeting indicated that if the high number of adjustments result in a tax windfall for the county, it may be used to provide some tax relief next year. Just because you have. a windfall doesn’t mean you have to spend it,” said Commonwealth’s attorney Peter Luke.
Email the reporter at mtayloe@timespapers. com
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