In the wake of Tropical Storm Helene, employees at Buncombe County\u2019s tax department have been on the front lines, working at water distribution sites, assisting the emergency operations center, and, most critically, conducting damage assessments across the region. As the county grapples with the storm\u2019s impact, these tax assessors are tasked with evaluating the damage to more than 130,000 properties, providing crucial data that will help shape future property tax valuations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is a major data collection project,\u201d said Eric Cregger, Buncombe County\u2019s interim tax assessor. \u201cThat right now is the biggest task we have.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With the extent of the storm’s damage still unknown, Cregger\u2019s team is out in the field, documenting the physical condition of properties throughout Buncombe County. The information collected will not only provide a clearer picture of the devastation caused by Helene but will also play a critical role in determining changes to property values that could affect future tax bills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Any new property valuations stemming from the storm\u2019s impact will be based on the county\u2019s 2021 schedule of values, not the recently adopted 2025 schedule, which is currently under review. At the county\u2019s October 15 meeting, commissioners will vote on a resolution to delay the 2025 reappraisal by one year due to the storm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even under normal circumstances, reappraisal is a challenging task. It requires assessors to account not only for the physical condition of properties but also the economic health of the county. Following a natural disaster, the complexity of this work increases exponentially.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis can be heartbreaking, emotional work,\u201d said Kirk Boone, an associate professor at the UNC School of Government and an expert in tax appraisal and assessment. Boone, who is originally from Spruce Pine in Western North Carolina, has seen the devastation firsthand. After Tropical Storm Helene hit, he traveled to the area to bring his 80-year-old mother to safety after blocked roads and disrupted phone service left her stranded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a concentrated disaster area from Haywood County north to parts of Watauga, and south to Chimney Rock in Rutherford County,\u201d Boone explained. \u201cSome of the counties say it\u2019s so bad, it\u2019s hard to know exactly where to start.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Given the scale of the destruction, Boone noted that counties severely impacted by the storm will likely rely on outside assessors from coastal regions of North Carolina, who have experience conducting damage assessments after hurricanes. These experts will assist local teams in evaluating the damage and ensuring that the affected properties are properly assessed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite the overwhelming challenges, the focus for Buncombe County\u2019s tax assessors remains clear: get the values right. Cregger\u2019s team is determined to make sure that any changes to properties are accurately documented and that adjustments are made as necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur primary focus is to get these values correct for 2025,\u201d Cregger said, emphasizing the importance of ensuring that all storm-related changes are properly accounted for.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In the wake of Tropical Storm Helene, employees at Buncombe County\u2019s tax department have been on the front lines, working at water distribution sites, assisting the emergency operations center, and, most critically, conducting damage assessments across the region. As the county grapples with the storm\u2019s impact, these tax assessors are tasked with evaluating the damage […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10772,"featured_media":1580,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[365,364,361,371,370,362,368,367,366,363],"class_list":{"0":"post-1579","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-finance","8":"tag-buncombe-county","9":"tag-damage-assessment","10":"tag-disaster-recovery","11":"tag-emergency-operations","12":"tag-property-valuations","13":"tag-reappraisal","14":"tag-tax-appraisals","15":"tag-tax-department","16":"tag-tropical-storm-helene","17":"tag-western-north-carolina"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetimesfinancial.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1579","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetimesfinancial.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetimesfinancial.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetimesfinancial.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/10772"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetimesfinancial.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1579"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/thetimesfinancial.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1579\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1582,"href":"https:\/\/thetimesfinancial.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1579\/revisions\/1582"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetimesfinancial.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1580"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetimesfinancial.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1579"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetimesfinancial.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1579"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetimesfinancial.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1579"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}