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Mecklenburg County residents to receive property value letters in the mail

By Elsa Gillis
By Elsa Gillis

MECKLENBURG COUNTY, N.C. — In just a matter of weeks, Mecklenburg County residents will be getting a letter in the mail notifying them of their new home values for the first time in eight years.

[LINK: MECKLENBURG COUNTY REVALUATION WEBSITE]

"Investment is good, we just have to have it balanced and thoughtful," said resident J'Tanya Adams in reference to the brand-new homes in her neighborhood, having popped up seemingly overnight, with skyrocketing prices.

Adams has lived in the historic Seversville neighborhood for decades, and is concerned what's coming in the mail could drive some longtime residents out.

"We’re talking about an underserved community that has not seen investment for decades, not even subtle investment, so all of a sudden you have rapid increase," Adams said. "And so those that do not have means--are going to really struggle."

Come mid-January, there will likely be some sticker shock countywide.

"I think with the eight-year cycle we’re in right now we’ve seen growth across the entire county," said Mecklenburg County Assessor Ken Joyner.

They are 90% complete with the property revaluations, and hope to have them completed in the next few weeks. Until they're complete, he can't say which neighborhoods are seeing the biggest hike, but as of now, there's a 40% median increase for residential properties.  For commercial properties it's up 77%.

The fear is, when property values go up, so do taxes, but it's too early to know if that's going to happen.

"At this point it’s a little preliminary to speculate on who's going to have an increase or not until we know more about each of their jurisdictions and their budgets," said Joyner.

[Mecklenburg County could see tax increases]

The budget process starts this upcoming spring.

A new Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners was sworn in Monday night. The board will help decide tax rates, and members were quick to point out an increase isn't necessarily on the table.

Chairman George Dunlap told Channel 9, "We're not interested in taking monies that are not necessary to meet the needs of this community."

This revaluation process is required by state law at least every eight years. Joyner said next time around, they're looking at doing it sooner, so any increase is more gradual.

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