Union County tax administrator outlines reappraisal, appeals process as Indian Trail homeowners face higher assessments

Van Harrell, Union County tax administrator, told the Indian Trail council and a packed public meeting on March 11 that a statutorily-required reappraisal completed this year raised countywide assessed value roughly 60% and that Indian Trail’s residential values increased about 60.26% before exemptions and estimated appeal losses.

Harrell said the county completed the appraisal phase and had entered an intensive appeals window; his office had already received more than 1,000 appeals by the time of the meeting. He said the county’s new values returned a countywide sales ratio and other statistical measures very close to market, and that the reappraisal was required after prior ratios fell below state thresholds.

Why it matters: the reappraisal aligns assessed values with market value, which preserves uniformity and the tax base for all jurisdictions that rely on property tax revenue. But higher assessed values do not automatically translate to higher tax bills: taxing jurisdictions set rates after reappraisals. Harrell and town staff…