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Residents press Surry County board on uneven property reassessments
Summary
Multiple citizens told the board they found inconsistent property valuations across adjacent lots and questioned the limited scope of a recent reassessment; residents requested a review and the county said staff and the commissioner of revenue are working on corrections.
Several Clermont and county residents raised concerns about property reassessments and resulting tax increases during the public-comment period at the Jan. 15 Surry County Board of Supervisors meeting.
Roberta Hamill, who said she has 32 years in the mortgage industry, told the board she found disparities of 23–31% between adjacent lots and cited Code of Virginia requirements that assessments be uniform and market-value based: "The Virginia Constitution and the code of Virginia title 58.1-3201 require that property is assessed based on its fair market value," she said. Brian Hamill and Paul Miller gave multiple examples of adjacent lots or nearby houses with very different assessments and asked the board to review the contractor performing assessments; the Commissioner of Revenue, attendees said, is working with some property owners on corrections.
Board members acknowledged the concerns and said staff and the sheriff’s office (for other issues raised) would be involved in follow up. The board did not adopt a formal investigation or direct the replacement of the assessor at the meeting; members said they would look into options including an outside review or additional oversight.
