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Board of County Commissioners the citizens placed their trust in them to lead them into the <br /> future for good or bad, but no one saw the economic downturn. He sees this across the board <br /> and people are upset about the recent revaluation. He is a State Certified Residential <br /> Appraiser and he has seen property values double, triple, and more. He said that he does not <br /> see any basis for this and it is not a coincidence that so many people are showing up for these <br /> meetings. This has never happened in past revaluations. He looks at this as an opportunity <br /> for the County Commissioners as the leaders to stand up and make a tough decision and to <br /> rescind this revaluation. He said that other counties have rescinded their revaluations since <br /> January 1st - Rockingham County, Stanley County, and Caldwell County. He submitted a letter <br /> from an attorney in Eden, who has served on the North Carolina Attorney General's Office. He <br /> read several sentences from the letter, which is incorporated by reference. "I understand that <br /> the Orange County Commissioners have been told that they cannot legally stop the revaluation <br /> at this time. I believe that this information is absolutely incorrect. There is a statute that clearly <br /> states that a revaluation shall be conducted at least every eight years. As long as the eight- <br /> year limitation is observed, County Commissioners are given freedom to set a different and <br /> lesser period which you all have done in Orange County. There is absolutely no statutory <br /> provision that you cannot change the period as long as the reassessment is done within eight <br /> years. If the legislature had wanted to provide that once making a decision to shorten the <br /> revaluation period a county board cannot change its mind such a provision could and would <br /> certainly have been placed in the statute. The fact that it was not placed within the statute <br /> clearly indicates that the legislature had no such intent. Certainly, it would be absurd for a <br /> legislature to take the position that you have no authority to rescind this revaluation if you <br /> believe that such should be done." He said that if there is such a statutory limitation on the <br /> rights to rescind the revaluation, he would like to know where that is. He also submitted an <br /> article about Rockingham County unanimously rescinding its revaluation. <br /> Commissioner Nelson arrived at 7:21 PM. <br /> Clem Self spoke about the increase in property value in the area of North Graham <br /> Street. She said that the homes in these communities are more than 50 years old and the <br /> income bases do not match the property values bestowed upon the homes. She said that if <br /> the revaluations continue, they will be in "taxclosure" versus foreclosure. She said that people <br /> moved into these communities because they could afford it. She said that the citizens feel that <br /> the County is allowing people from other states to move into the communities and dictate what <br /> the property values should be because they find it cheaper to live here. She asked the County <br /> Commissioners to be considerate of the citizens that have lived here all of their lives. <br /> Mike Strayhorn said that his family came to Orange County in the 1740's. He said that <br /> this revaluation is the most absurd revaluation he has ever seen and he is a real estate <br /> practitioner. He said that his clients are concerned about how the revaluation is handled. He <br /> said that Orange County's Tax Assessor started announcing early on that citizens were going <br /> to be concerned about their taxes. Most of the property value in Orange County went up 22%. <br /> He said that his home in Hillsborough went up 52% in four years and something needs to be <br /> done. He said that every homeowner that feels they have been wronged by these incorrect <br /> analyses needs to be heard. <br /> Robert Hollister said that his property value went up 91% and he considers this to be <br /> unfair. He asked the County Commissioners to do something about this. <br /> Cynthia Shriner is also a real estate practitioner. She said that she has also reviewed <br /> the statutes and she respectfully disagrees with the County Attorney that the County <br /> Commissioners can rescind the revaluations. She elaborated on this. <br />