Matthews County authorizes contract negotiations for 2027 reassessment; Cohen recommended

Matthews County supervisors authorized the county administrator July 17 to enter contract negotiations for a 2027 property reassessment after a joint procurement with Middlesex and King and Queen counties.

County staff said two vendors submitted proposals: Vision and Cohen. The evaluation committee recommended Cohen based on price and the vendor interviews. Cohens proposal for Matthews County was $278,730; Visions proposal was $307,351. The committee included administrators and commissioners of revenue from the participating counties and a board member from each locality.

Why it matters: Reassessment changes taxable values for property owners and can affect county revenue and tax bills. State law requires a four-year reassessment interval unless the locality has adopted a different schedule.

County staff told the board the RFP required no commitment at the solicitation stage; each locality would sign a separate contract with the selected company. The county attorney agreed to draft and review a contract for Matthews County if the board directed staff to proceed.

Supervisor discussion focused on costs and the potential benefits of regional procurement. A board member said the Cohen proposal appeared to offer a lower risk of repeating problems from the prior reassessment because the previous assessor had joined the Vision team. The board voted to authorize the county administrator to pursue contract negotiations and return a contract for legal review and approval.

Next steps: Staff will work with the county attorney to draft a contract for board review. The county indicated it expects to meet the schedule needed to complete reassessments by the 2027 deadline if negotiations proceed.