Patrick County awards 2027 general reassessment to Vision Wampler Eanes after debate over bids and in-house option

The Patrick County Board of Supervisors voted to award the 2027 general real estate reassessment to Vision Wampler Eanes, approving the contract after a discussion about bids, on‑site staffing and whether new‑construction tracking should be handled in house.

Board members debated the two bids received for the general reassessment and whether to hire external staff to capture new construction between reassessments. “Vision was $549,008.40 for the general reassessment,” the reassessment presenter said during the meeting, while Cowan Services’ full proposal with support staff was described as $492,000 and $427,200 without support staff. The board voted to award the reassessment to Vision Wampler Eanes with four votes in favor and one opposed.

The nut of the discussion was whether to pay a contractor to pick up new construction after the reassessment or to build capacity in house. Cowan offered a per‑permit charge to capture new construction (presented as about $55 per building permit); Vision offered a day‑rate model that began at $795 per day in year one and would increase by roughly $30 annually. Staff told the board the RFP had three parts: the general reassessment, an assessment of the county’s Kremlen (sic) area, and new‑construction capture, and that the Kremlen bids were still pending.

Board members and staff noted practical differences: Vision indicated it could deploy more field staff if needed and finish the project by September 2026; Cowan said most support work would be performed off‑site but would require on‑site office space about 5% of the time. The presenter said performance bonds were not included in the bid figures because the county planned to hold a 10% retainage and would require a bond separately if necessary.

Supervisors also discussed a longer‑term move to an in‑house construction‑tracking process. One supervisor said in‑house tracking would allow the county to reassess new construction more frequently and smooth large value shifts that can result when assessments are performed far apart. Staff described that hiring support staff for data entry had been done in the 2021 reassessment and that an on‑site presence can make it easier to resolve data questions during the process.

The board adopted the motion to award the contract to Vision Wampler Eanes after a motion, a second and discussion. The board also agreed to revisit the option of contractor pickup of new construction at a later date.

Officials said the county had received only two responsive bids for the general reassessment RFP. Staff recommended moving forward with the selected vendor rather than delaying to seek additional responses.

What’s next: Staff will finalize contract details, including performance bond and support‑staff arrangements, and return to the board if the county wishes to change the approach for new‑construction tracking.