The York County Board of Supervisors voted on Oct. 21 to continue consideration of a proposed ordinance that would require property owners to bring assessment disputes to the Board of Equalization before pursuing circuit‑court appeals.

County Attorney Paul Hill and board members debated the effect of the proposed change, which state law allows localities to adopt: supporters said the rule provides the county and the property owner an administrative forum and narrows late‑filed litigation that can disrupt budgeting; opponents worried the change could deny taxpayers their rights if they missed a short filing window. Several supervisors urged caution and asked staff to return with alternative approaches, including longer filing periods or rules that treat residential assessments differently from commercial or multifamily properties.

The board voted unanimously to continue the public hearing and requested draft alternative language to return at the Nov. 20 meeting. Staff said it will examine options such as extending the BOE filing window and whether classification by property type (residential vs. commercial/multifamily) is permissible under state law.

Provenance: county attorney set out statutory background; supervisors asked for a rewrite and continuation to Nov. 20.