During citizens time, resident Randall Hamel told the Wythe County Board of Supervisors he sold a high-value pickup truck on Jan. 12 and asked whether the county had considered prorating personal property taxes for vehicles sold after Jan. 1.

“I sold the truck on January 12… my tax bill for the truck was $8,9894 after tax relief,” Hamel said, describing that a prorated bill would have been far smaller and that families who buy and sell vehicles during the year may pay multiple bills. He asked whether the board had considered adopting proration.

Board members responded that, in recent history, they had not had a conversation about proration and that personal property taxes are assessed as of Jan. 1. One supervisor said the board could look into the question with the Commissioner of the Revenue but noted that proration could apply both ways and raised administrative considerations (for example, vehicles bought after Jan. 1 could also require proration).

The item was presented as a citizen request for the board to consider policy direction; no formal motion, study request, or further action was recorded in the transcript beyond board agreement to have staff or the Commissioner of the Revenue examine the feasibility of proration.