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Tax Assessment Work Group

Orange County · Tax Assessment Work Group
Monday, January 12, 2026

Other Tax rate and revaluationContracts and procurementHousing and affordabilityLitigation and settlements

Agenda document Minutes Watch Meeting recap

What was decided

  1. Approved 2Approval of Minutes Approved unanimously
  2. Continued 4Community Research Findings Deferred to February 9

Read from the agenda's recorded outcomes. Where the board published minutes, those are the record — this is a pointer to them.

What's on this agenda

Orange County's Tax Assessment Work Group takes up a legal briefing on how the Board of Equalization and Review operates, an update on the request for proposals for the county's property reappraisal, and community research findings from the NC Housing Coalition's Hudson Vaughan. The group also approves minutes from its December 5 meeting and discusses next steps.

The group was set up after complaints about how property is assessed in the county. It includes county commissioners, staff, community representatives from several districts, and representatives from the NC Housing Coalition and Property Tax Justice.

Summarized from the published agenda. Read the agenda itself before acting on it.

Meeting recap

What happened, drawn from the records published after the meeting. Minutes

The work group approved its December 5 minutes and heard a legal briefing on the Board of Equalization and Review. No sitting board members were invited, to avoid a quorum problem; the county will invite them to a future meeting with public notice. Appeals are limited to properties appraised well above market value, and every appellant has a right to be heard. Commercial appeals follow the same process as residential ones, with a commercial appraiser attending and consultants reviewing valuation methods. Commissioner Marilyn Carter asked for a report on those methods from the last reappraisal, and Commissioner Amy Fowler asked for a future presentation on commercial real estate.

The county's request for proposals for its property reappraisal drew four vendors to a pre-submittal conference, with proposals due January 23. The group put off Hudson Vaughan's community research presentation to February 9 for lack of time. Reviewing the RFP responses may need an extra meeting, possibly in March.

How the votes went

The December 5 meeting summary was approved unanimously. No other votes were taken.

From the published minutes.

Speaking at this meeting

Orange County's own rules for public comment — check them before you rely on anything here.

Agenda items (5)

Presentation · 2Minutes approval · 1Other · 1Discussion item · 1
  1. 2 Approval of Minutes
    Minutes approval
    The December 5, 2025 meeting summary.
    Approved unanimously
  2. 3 Board of Equalization and Review Presentation
    Presentation Litigation and settlementsTax rate and revaluation
    A briefing from the county attorney's office on the statutes governing the board of equalization and review, the state Department of Revenue appeals manual, and county practice. The duty to review tax lists is separate from the appeals process; grounds for appeal are properties appraised substantially above market value under G.S. 105-283; all appellants have a right to be heard; minutes are public on the tax administration website and the tax assessor serves as clerk; subpoena power has rarely been used recently. Commercial appeals follow the same process as residential, with a commercial appraiser attending and consultants reviewing all three valuation methods. Members asked for a summary…
  3. 3.a Request For Proposal Update
    Other Contracts and procurementTax rate and revaluation
    The request for proposals went out in early January and a pre-submittal conference drew four vendors. Proposals were due January 23, with review possibly requiring an extra meeting in March.
  4. 4 Community Research Findings
    Presentation Housing and affordabilityTax rate and revaluation
    Neighborhood research findings from the NC Housing Coalition representative, deferred for lack of time.
    Deferred to February 9
  5. 5 Discussion of Next Steps
    Discussion item Tax rate and revaluation
    February 9 will carry the deferred research presentation and, with public notice, possibly a session with sitting members of the board of equalization and review. Also queued: a dashboard showing neighborhood changes, a consultant's evaluation report, county commissioner reports the group can also see, and a range of property tax data requested by a community representative.

Agenda changes

What moved between published versions of this agenda. Item numbers shift constantly as things are inserted, so only genuine additions and removals are listed.

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