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Board of Equalization reduces an assessment and approves a taxpayer compromise in two appeals
Summary
At a reconvened Board of Equalization on May 4, the county approved a recommended assessment reduction for a small agricultural parcel and authorized a statutory compromise and release of a tax bill for a 282.73‑acre parcel after a present‑use value audit.
After recessing the regular meeting, the commissioners sat as the Board of Equalization and Review and heard two petitions from the tax office.
Theresa Lewis, the county tax administrator, presented the first appeal (Cooper): the taxpayer’s 2026 assessed value originally mailed was $49,100, the owner’s opinion of value was $33,100, and staff recommended an adjusted market value of $17,461 after new soil analysis and removal of a one‑acre home‑site valuation. The taxpayer consented to the recommended adjustment and the board approved the reduction by voice vote.
Lewis also presented a discovery appeal for a large parcel owned by Claude and Carrie Barnes Jr. The property (282.73 acres off NC‑33 NW) was audited for present‑use value and staff determined the parcel qualified for the PUB program. Lewis said the taxpayer had misplaced the original application while undergoing medical treatment and asked the board (citing N.C. Gen. Stat. § 105‑312(k)) to compromise and release the tax bill assessed in error and to retain the parcel’s present‑use classification. The board approved the compromise and release by voice vote.
Lewis told commissioners the assessor’s office performs statutory PUB audits to verify continued eligibility and described additional commercial appeals to be brought in June. The board reconvened as the Board of Commissioners at the end of the session.
