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ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date: December 13, 2011 <br />Action Agenda <br />Item No. S - -~ <br />SUBJECT• Property Tax Releases and/or Refunds (Business Personal Property) <br />DEPARTMENT: Tax Administration <br />PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No <br />ATTACHMENT(S): <br />Resolution <br />Spreadsheet <br />INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />Jenkins S. Crayton, 245-2735 <br />PURPOSE: To consider adoption of a resolution to release property values related to four <br />hundred and one (401) tax notices which need a property tax release and/or refund. <br />BACKGROUND: The Tax Administration Office has four hundred and one (401) tax notices <br />which require a release or refund of property taxes for the current fiscal year. During the <br />valuation process, these properties were not appraised correctly by the County's third-party <br />contractor, and the total cost of property was incorrectly recorded as the value. In addition, no <br />allowance for depreciation was made as it should occurred. During 2012, staff plans to bring <br />this process back in-house. <br />These incorrect valuations were not expected and were not included in budget projections. <br />After the annual billing of taxes, counties make corrections, according to law, to notices <br />generated by clerical errors. North Carolina General Statute 105-381(b), "Action of Governing <br />Body" provides that "upon receiving a taxpayer's written statement of defense and request for <br />release or refund, the governing body of the Taxing Unit shall within 90 days after receipt of <br />such a request determine whether the taxpayer has a valid defense to the tax imposed or any <br />part thereof and shall either release or refund that portion of the amount that is determined to <br />be in excess of the correct liability or notify the taxpayer in writing that no release or refund will <br />be made". North Carolina law allows the Board to approve property tax releases and refunds <br />for the current and four previous fiscal years. <br />FINANCIAL IMPACT: Since the tax amounts on these notices were not budgeted, the approval <br />of this change will not result in a reduction of expected revenues. <br />RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends the Board approve the attached <br />resolution approving these property tax release and refund requests in accordance with North <br />Carolina General Statute 105-381. <br />