I guess the claim that they didn’t want to release them until the homeowners got them wasn’t entirely genuine. Everything’s politics; everything has spin. Witness today’s Daily Progress article; getting ahead of the curve is valuable.

The average reassessment increases or decreases, by magisterial district, are:

– Rio: .81 percent
– Jack Jouett: .43 percent
– Rivanna: .57 percent
– Samuel Miller: minus 1.18 percent
– Scottsville: 1.4 percent
– White Hall: minus .79 percent
– Town of Scottsville: minus .46 percent.

The County’s website has not yet been updated, but hopefully will be shortly.

Contrast the above numbers with last year’s assessments –

The average annual increases for specific magisterial districts are as follows (biennial increases are in parenthesis):

– Rio                                          13.57 % (27.14 %)
– Jack Jouett                            11.27 % (22.54 %)
– Rivanna                                  14.98 % (29.96 %)
– Samuel Miller                        15.64 % (31.28 %)
– Scottsville                              15.54 % (31.08 %)
– White Hall                              16.72 % (33.44 %)
– Town of Scottsville                15.93 % (31.87 %)

Get caught up on assessments with this story from last week, this one from two weeks ago (with my offer to homeowners for help contesting assessments). Albemarle’s real estate taxes page has basic information.

Property taxes pay for many, many things, notably schools. Visit Brian’s excellent school board blog for the context of this quote:

So, depending on how you look at it, the school system is 45%, 47%, or 61% (adding debt, capital, self-sustaining) of the County budget and property taxes contribute either 62% or 45%.

I’d argue that we’re all adjusting to the new economy – meaning working with less money. Citizens make decisions, often harsh ones, on whether to spend discretionary and sometimes not-so-discretionary money. Government is neither immune, nor should they be.

We are not alone in dealing with lowered assessments and the accompanying fallout.

Please post your reassessment experience here. Was it up? Down? Flat?

Update 29 January 2008: Lee Catlin emailed me the letter sent from the Assessor’s office and the news release. Notably:

What can I do if I don’t agree with my reassessment?  There is a structured process in place that allows residents to appeal their reassessment.  As a first step, property owners are encouraged to contact the appraiser responsible for the appraisal, and owners have until the last business day of February to appeal their reassessment to the Assessor’s Office. If satisfaction is not achieved, a second option is available to owners through an appeal to the Board of Equalization, which is comprised of Albemarle citizens who have completed instructional training from the Department of Taxation. Board of Equalization appeals can be done until March 17th.  Further appeal can also be made to the Circuit Court at any time. I strongly recommend that you start your appeal with the Assessor’s Office, since issues can frequently be resolved at that point.  Please contact the Assessor’s Office at (434)296-5856 for assistance.

Update #2 – 29 January 2008: My assessment is down 10% – land value stayed the same; the house depreciated. How long until this data is reflected on Zillow?

Technorati Tags: albemarle, assessments, charlalbemarle, politics, zillow