Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Budget And Taxation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Supervisors set multiple budget workshops as county reassessment proceeds; equalization board appointment confirmed
Summary
Board approved a schedule of budget workshops to meet tax-rate deadlines, discussed reassessment phases and appeals, and appointed John Bieber to the reassessment equalization board.
Russell County supervisors agreed Jan. 6 to expand budget workshops through February–April to ensure departments’ requests are reviewed ahead of the May 25 tax-notice deadline as the county undergoes a property reassessment.
County administrator Lonzo Lester said department budget requests are due by Feb. 7 and proposed a sequence of workshops—beginning with a late-February session and continuing through March and April—so the board can set the calendar-year tax rate in time for May notices. He told supervisors the reassessment work will continue in the background and appealed to the board to stay “ahead of it.”
Lester described the reassessment as a two-phase process. He said phase one (about four to five weeks) allows property owners to meet with assessors to discuss appraisals and comparables; appeals that proceed go to the equalization board. The board appointed John Bieber (member of the Industrial Development Authority) to serve on the equalization board. The county attorney and administrator confirmed the equalization board may act for up to 12 months under the Code of Virginia and that members must be taxpayers (the code requires they be taxpayers, not necessarily landowners).
Supervisors emphasized public outreach and transparency, with administrators agreeing to circulate materials ahead of workshops so members and residents can review budget documents.
