1. SL 362 Project Update Refunds and Discoveries
Presented to Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners
July 1, 2014

2. Proverb for the Day
Juggling Chainsaws is not a long-term professional career option……..
Ken Joyner

3. Juggling Chainsaws is not a long-term career

4. CAMA/Appraisal is a perfect science?

5. Additional Proverb for the Day
This stuff is really hard….
Ken Joyner

6. SL 362 Revaluation Review Project
What is SL 362?
Enacted in July 2013
Section 1 identifies the counties that are required to follow SL 362
Section 2 identifies the requirements of SL 362
(i) Conduct a reappraisal within 18 months
(ii) have a qualified appraisal company conduct a review of all values in the county by neighborhood
Option chosen by Mecklenburg County
(ii) Pearson Appraisal Services
MecklenburgCountyNC.gov

7. SL 362 Revaluation Review Project Refunds
SL 362, Section 2 (1) Adj. to parcels with errors that resulted in the parcels having a significantly overstated value
Refunds for SL362
Statutory changes
Software changes
Procedural changes
MecklenburgCountyNC.gov

8. SL 362 Revaluation Review Project Refunds
SL 362, Section 2 (1) Adj. to parcels with errors that resulted in the parcels having a significantly overstated value
Process Timeline
After BOCC approval, notices are mailed
30 days to appeal (we allow some extra time for mail to arrive)
If no appeal, refund process begins (add ’l 30 – 45 days)
MecklenburgCountyNC.gov

9. SL 362 Revaluation Review Project Refunds
Who gets the refund?
The owner of record on the date the taxes are paid.
What is the interest rate paid on the refunds? 5%
How many have been mailed to date?
As of September 24th, 83,762
How many refunds have been generated by SL 362 to date?
As of September 24th there are 161,530
Historical refunds counts (annually)
,568
,406
(SL 362 only to date) ,530
MecklenburgCountyNC.gov

10. SL 362 Revaluation Review Project Refunds
What is the total amount refunded to date?
As of September 24th, $9,162, including interest
What is the total amount of refunds remaining?
As of September 24th, $8,673, including interest
Month Approved
Total
Processed
October 2013
195
November 2013
6,063
6,050
December 2013
3,745
3,554
January 2014
13,882
11,488
February 2014
13,503
11,360
March 2014
10,441
7,703
April 2014
16,253
9,437
May 2014
16,154
 10,619
June 2014
19,021
11,883
July 2014
21,150
 11,454
August 2014
20,362
September 2014
20,761
Totals
161,530
83,743
MecklenburgCountyNC.gov

11. SL 362 Revaluation Review Project Refunds
Automation process beginning to catch up with the project needs
As of Sept 24th CAO has processed 84% of the refunds
MecklenburgCountyNC.gov

12. SL 362 Revaluation Review Project Discoveries
SL 362, Section 2 (2) Adj. to parcels with errors that resulted in the parcels having a significantly understated value
Discoveries for SL362
Statutory changes
Software changes
Procedural changes
MecklenburgCountyNC.gov

13. SL 362 Revaluation Review Project Discoveries
How many discovery bills have been generated by SL 362?
As of September 24th, 34,073
What is the dollar amount of discovery bills?
The total of all discovery bills to date is estimated at over $5,000,000
Note that there is no penalty included on discovery bills for the years
MecklenburgCountyNC.gov

14. SL 362 Revaluation Review Project Discoveries
Who is responsible for the discovery bills?
Current owner of record
Why the current owner?
NCGS (d) directs the assessor to mail to current owner. Effectively it is because the tax lien goes with the property.
Like refunds the volume of discovery bills is a significant increase over previous years.
Last year we did 1,373 discoveries
MecklenburgCountyNC.gov

15. SL 362 Revaluation Review Project Appeals
BER and PTC Issues
PTC appeals in 2013 – over 2,300 parcels
PTC appeals in 2014 – 124 parcels remaining (now under 100 cases)
BER appeals for SL362 – over 1,863 to date
MecklenburgCountyNC.gov

16. SL 362 Revaluation Review Project Appeals
Financial Issues
Appeals were not included in the original scope of work for Pearson Appraisal Services
Original contract is for $3,892,000
We have added $ to the contract to pay for the appeals
Based upon PTC cases worked (approx. 2,000), current appeals (1,863 unique parcels), and estimates for the remainder of the project
MecklenburgCountyNC.gov

17. SL 362 Revaluation Review Project Lessons Learned
REAPPRAISAL
Field Canvassing is important
2011 Reappraisal – Publically discussed that it had been 17 years since last visited
You must physically walk your properties to ensure accuracy
IAAO Standards state once every six years
Don’t rely items that are not completed
Appeals module wasn’t ready
Communication is crucial
No response speaks volumes, just not the message you want conveyed
MecklenburgCountyNC.gov

18. SL 362 Revaluation Review Project Lessons Learned
SESSION LAW
No one cares that it hasn’t ever been done before
Refunds
Start-up periods
Everyone wants their property to be completed early in the process
18 month project with18 monthly reports
Communication is crucial
Citizens
Elected Officials
County Administration
Media
Contractor
CAMA/Software provider
MecklenburgCountyNC.gov

19. SL 362 Revaluation Review Project Lessons Learned
SESSION LAW
Multiple Years bring on new issues and problems
Data Entry/Notices
Refunds
Appeals
Workflow/Business Processes are going to change
Think about the process prior to starting
Determine who is going to handle what processes
Include you CAMA/software provider
Manage expectations
Proactively work with Legislature on minimum refund amount
MecklenburgCountyNC.gov

20. SL 362 Revaluation Review Project Lessons Learned
SESSION LAW
Define role and chain of command with the contractor
You do not want line staff making decisions on the fly
Space was a big issue for us
40-50 contractor’s for 18+ months
Know the contract and who is responsible for each item
Cost can escalate quickly
You will not think of everything
Stay ready for change
If it happens once it will happen again
MecklenburgCountyNC.gov