Duplin County officials explain mandatory property revaluation; residents warn of higher bills and insurance impacts

Duplin County tax staff on April 7 told the Board of Commissioners that a countywide property revaluation is mandatory under state law and described how taxpayers can appeal new values, while several residents urged the board to limit any tax-rate increases and raised concerns about higher homeowner costs in areas with limited fire protection.

The county’s presentation opened with Miller, a Duplin County tax official, saying the North Carolina “machinery act” requires counties to revalue all real property at least every eight years and that Duplin is in its eighth year. “The uniform standard governing the county assessor’s appraisal of all property, real and personal, is that the property be appraised at its market value,” Miller said. He described three accepted valuation methods—the cost approach, sales-comparison approach and income approach—and said staff must apply them across the county.

The explanation mattered because several residents who spoke during public comment said their parcel valuations rose substantially in the new reappraisal. “I went to bed one night, and I woke up the next day rich if I can pay the bill,” resident Rachel Holland told the board. Holland gave several parcel examples she said were revalued: one that rose about 40% (from $29,300 to $41,000; a $11,700 increase), another she said rose about 81.5% (from $79,600 to $144,500; a $64,900 increase), and a third that rose about 75.6% (from $38,100 to $50,400; a $12,300 increase). She said those increases would raise her tax bills if the county’s tax rate does not fall.

Miller and commissioners explained how taxes are calculated and how the budget officer must publish a revenue-neutral tax rate in revaluation years. Miller said that figure “is estimated to produce revenue for the next fiscal year equal to the revenue that would have been produced for the previous fiscal year, at the current tax rate, if no reappraisal had occurred.” He also warned that the revenue-neutral rate is an aggregate countywide estimate and that individual taxpayers will be affected differently.

Several residents pressed for more detail. Debbie Miller asked whether valuations for homes in lower-priced neighborhoods would be compared to high-end subdivisions; Miller said assessors use comparable sales “within your geographic region” and for similar property types. Mary Graddy, a Warsaw-area resident, told the board she faces steep increases in homeowners insurance because her area does not fall in a six-mile fire-response district and said premiums had more than doubled; she worried higher property taxes would force her to cancel insurance.

County staff said the tax office will meet with taxpayers who have questions and the board reiterated that appeals are available. Miller described the Board of Equalization and Review process: the appeals board must convene no earlier than the first Monday in April and no later than the first Monday in May; in revaluation years it must adjourn by Dec. 1 (in other years by July 1). He advised taxpayers that successful appeals usually include independent appraisals or comparable-sale data.

Commissioners did not adopt a tax rate at the meeting. Several commissioners told the public they expect to set a rate close to revenue neutral when they consider the budget; one commissioner said the board would “lower the rate” compared with simply applying the new values to the existing rate, but no formal decision on a rate was made at the meeting.

The county asked taxpayers with concerns to contact the Duplin County Tax Office first; unresolved disputes can be brought to the Board of Equalization and Review during the posted appeal period.