Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Property Taxes Assessments topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Surry County assessor presents reassessment results; residents voice concerns over higher home assessments
Summary
Wingate Appraisal Services presented the countywide reassessment outcomes showing roughly 6,500 parcels and adjustments to about 4,600 properties; staff reported 111 appeals with 62 revisions. Several residents raised concerns about perceived large increases in assessed values and requests for clearer tax-rate information.
Wingate Appraisal Services told the Surry County Board of Supervisors on April 3 that it has completed the county’s reassessment and certified new values for the 2025 tax year.
The consultant said Surry County has about 6,500 parcels and that approximately 4,600 of them required adjustments in the current cycle. Wingate reported receiving 111 appeals from property owners during the appeals process; staff revised 62 of those appeals (about 56 percent of appeals received). Overall taxable assessed value rose to approximately $1.415 billion following the assessor's hearings, a roughly 12 percent change from the 2024 total, the presenter said. The consultant highlighted market movement in lower-price ranges as the most pronounced driver of assessment increases.
Examples offered by the appraisal consultant included a ranch home sold in November 2024 for $200,000 that received a new assessment of $236,000 (about a 50 percent increase over its prior assessment), a modular home sold in April 2024 for $354,000 assessed at $350,100 (about a 28 percent increase from prior assessment), and a Cape Cod home sold in July 2024 for $430,000 with a modest assessment increase of 2 percent. The presenter said part of the overall increase also reflected revaluation of large acreage tracts in the Spring Grove solar area as those parcels were recoded to industrial values to reflect new solar phases and the addition of biogas processing assets.
Public comment during the meeting included multiple residents expressing concern about increases in assessed values and a request for clearer information about how any tax-rate changes would affect bills. Speakers urged the county to notify homeowners in advance of public hearings on the tax rate and to provide more transparent materials that show how rate changes translate to a household's tax bill. One resident said her assessment rose by about $40,000 and called the increase “absolutely obscene.” Another speaker asked why a $2,500 improvement was placed on her property record for a storage shed and said staff had not yet provided sufficient explanation.
Board members and staff acknowledged the presentation, explained that Virginia law requires ad valorem assessments based on market value as of the assessment date, and said the county would publish the administrator’s proposed budget and proposed tax rates on the county website ahead of the April 10 budget presentation and the May budget public hearing. The administrator noted the budget schedule and encouraged citizens to submit comments; staff said the board would consider the proposed tax rate at the April 10 meeting and adopt a budget after the required hearings and timelines.
The Wingate presentation and staff remarks provided context for the reassessment but did not include a board vote on a tax rate at the April 3 meeting; the board adopted routine agenda and consent items that included the acceptance of audit and accounts-payable items.
