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Assessor: 2025 reappraisal lifts county assessments ~27%; XAI campus could add about $13.5 million
Summary
Shelby County Assessor Melvin Burgess told the budget subcommittee that 2025 certified assessments total roughly $30.53 billion (a ~27% increase) and that personal-property filings from the XAI supercomputer campus could add an estimated $13.5 million in tax revenue, though filings are not complete.
Shelby County Assessor Melvin Burgess told the Budget & Finance subcommittee that the assessor’s office will submit a 2025 certified assessment roll on April 20 that shows combined certified assessments of $30,530,216,005.76 — about a 27% increase over the prior certified roll.
Burgess said the office is confident in the snapshot figures, including an overall assessment increase of approximately 28,385,587,237 and total anticipated gross property-tax obligations of $1,034,974,003.42. “We have ran several calculations to check these figures, and I have spoken with both of my team members, Anita Holmes and our head appraiser, Mr. David Baker. The long and short of it is we stand by these numbers,” Burgess said.
Burgess also told commissioners his staff has identified about 75% of employees who are eligible to leave through attrition or retirement, and he said a consultant is helping to design a succession plan because recruiting appraisers at market rates is difficult.
On the county’s high-profile XAI supercomputer campus, Burgess said the office has not yet received complete personal-property filings but is estimating a conservative $13,500,000 in first-year property-tax revenue from XAI. “We have not included approximately 13,500,000 in anticipated revenue from XAI project. We have not received their filings yet,” he said, and added the estimate excludes leased equipment until ownership details are resolved.
Burgess warned commissioners that some XAI equipment may be leased rather than owned — which could change how the personal property is assessed — and said the estimate could change if additional asset schedules are provided. He asked property owners to use the assessor’s office appeal process if they believe their valuation is incorrect.
Looking ahead, Burgess said notices of valuation will go out around March 1 and the office expects certification by April 20, after which appeals activity will begin. He emphasized the need for added staff capacity, saying he began his tenure with 34 appraisers where the office budgeted for 84.
