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Revaluation/From page 1ight years. It can do it more freuently,and it usually has. The lastne here was in 2003.But the ongoing crisis in the finanialmarkets and the accompanyingconomic slump have local officialsorried. Among them is Corneliusayor Jeff Tarte, who has appealed tohe Board of County CommissionersBOCC), on behalf of his town andown board, to defer the revaluationor two years. That, argued Tarte inletter sent to the BOCC this week,ould allow time for a reversal in theecent decline in housing value, andould postpone the property tax inreasethat revaluations inevitablyause. That additional tax would be aurden on families already strugglingo make mortgage payments and payther bills.“Delaying the reval is probably theight thing to do, and the best thing too,” says Tarte.Cornelius commissioner Davidilroy also wants to see the reval deayed.He says that even if municipaliiesdon’t raise their tax rate — andorth Mecklenburg municipalitiesikely won’t — most property ownersill be writing a larger check for proprtytaxes next year.“The average Cornelius familyrites a very large check for propertyaxes,” says Gilroy. “I think there’s noarger priority for the town than toake it (the reval deferral) happen.”The BOCC will vote on Tuesdayhether or not to proceed with the009 reval. Time is crititcal. Shouldhe BOCC delay its vote next week,he entire revaluation schedule coulde thrown off.It’s not clear which way the board iseaning. At a presentation on the issuehis week, most board members didot stake out a clear position on thessue, but instead absorbed informaionpresented by a staff that clearlysn’t in favor of a delay. BOCC memerDan Ramirez, a Republican andn at-large representative, said thatncreasing property taxes during aifficult economic year would be toouch of a burden on most taxpayers.“If you delay the revaluation for twoore years, the market will be settled,nd it would be a better situation forveryone,” said Ramirez.There are certainly some politicso the reval issue. The last countyeval was in January 2003, meaninghat today’s assessed value of countyroperties is based on market condiionssix years ago. Maintaining thisarket imbalance, say county revalxperts, for another two years meanshat some residents will continue toverpay, and others will continue tonderpay. Commissioners will likelyonsider the market conditions in theeighborhoods the represent whenasting their vote.Their biggest consideration might bestaff worries about all the time wastedpreparing for the ’09 revaluation. Mostof that work is done, and it’s not insignificant.County staff have alreadycompleted the legwork for the plannedproperty revaluation — an enormousand expensive task that involves theappraisal of some 360,000 propertiesEducatingworking adultsfor 115 yearsNEWSTHE HERALD OCTOBER 17, 2008 13— and are anxious to proceed with therevaluation as scheduled. The appraisaland valuation processes involves anumber of steps and differing methodsfor different properties. It is a complexand costly affair.Most county residents, particularlythose in north Mecklenburg, wouldsee an increase in their property values,and, thus, their tax bill. Eventhough the fourth quarter of yearshows market values dropping, the2009 reval would still be considerablyhigher than the 2003 values. The averagehome sale price countywide in2003 was $174,000, whereas in thethird quarter of this year, the averagesale price was about $225,000.Want to earn your degree while you earn a living? With Strayer University’s flexibleschedules, evening and weekend classes, and online courses, we make it possibleto earn your degree on your terms – a lot sooner than you think. Strayer University isaccredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and currently enrollsmore than 36,000 adult students at 60 campuses and online.Call today. Winter classes begin the week of January 12.Visit your local campus foran Open House on Oct. 22Although Mecklenburg County hasnot seen market declines like muchof the nation, the fourth quarter has,so far, shown an average drop of about$5,000. County staffers say that’smostly because neighborhoods havebeen afflicted by foreclosures, but stillothers have been impacted by generalmarket declines.We fit your life.1.866.324.5917http://huntersvilleherald.strayeruniversity.eduHuntersville | North Charlotte | South Charlotte