BOE Meeting-March 28, 2012 FinalNEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF
EQUALIZATION AND REVIEW, March 28, 2012
ASSEMBLY
BOOK
PAGE
The 2012 New Hanover County Board of Equalization and Review met on Wednesday, March
28, 2012, at 1:00 p.m. in the Lucie F. Harrell Conference Room of the New Hanover County
Government Center, 230 Government Center Drive, Wilmington, North Carolina. The purpose of the
meeting was to train, and swear in, the 2012 Board of Equalization and Review.
Members present were: Chairman Donald E. Harris, William J. O'Shea, Joe Miller, Linda M
Woods, John R. Babb, Ryan Rhodenhiser (Alternate), and Bob Drach (Alternate).
Staff members present were: Tax Administrator Roger Kelley, Assistant Tax Administrator
Jeffery Niebauer, Appraisal Supervisor Pete Richardson, Appraiser Thomas Harris, Appraisal
Administrative Support Technician Macio Carlton, and Fiscal Support Specialist Jennifer Watson.
Also present was: North Carolina Department of Revenue's Property Tax Division, Real
Property, Property Valuation Specialist II (Supervisor) Michael Brown and Tony Simpson.
AGENDA ITEM # 1: Introductions
Introductions were made by each of the Board members and staff present.
AGENDA ITEM # 2: Administration of the Oath of Office
Chairman Donald E. Harris, and members William O'Shea, Joe Miller, Linda M. Woods, John R.
Babb, Ryan Rhodenhiser, and Bob Drach were sworn in for their Oath of Office by Jennifer Watson.
Chairman Donald E. Harris called the meeting to order at 1:08 p.m.
AGENDA ITEM # 3: Presentation on "Members Handbook for Boards of Equalization and
Review"
Tony Simpson with the North Carolina Department of Revenue, Property Tax Division, made a
detailed presentation to the Board members on the North Carolina Department of Revenue's "Member's
Handbook for Boards of Equalization and Review" and answered questions from Board members.
During this training, Mr. Simpson advised that the Board had the option of swearing in, under
oath, all witnesses that came before the Board; and, despite no statutory mandate requiring same,
recommended that the Board may want to consider this option. After discussion of the pros and cons,
the Board agreed to consider the issue further and a motion was made as follows:
Motion: Joe Miller MOVED, SECONDED by Ryan Rhodenhiser, to place any witnesses under oath. Upon
vote, the motion carried 4 to 3. Chairman Harris requested that the County staff consider the issue further and,
coordinating with Mr. Rhodenhiser, propose some oath options.
AGENDA ITEM # 6: Schedule Future Meetings
The Board agreed that the Board's opening session, in accordance with North Carolina General
Statute §105- 322(e), will be scheduled for April 3, 2012, from 1:00 p.m. — 5:00 p.m., and the first appeals filed
by property owners will be heard. Additionally, the Board was advised that the closing session of the Board
has already been scheduled, via official notifications published in local newspapers as required by the North
Carolina General Statutes, for Tuesday, May 10, 2012, from 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. The Board was advised that
all written appeals must have been received in the Tax Department, or have been post marked, by 12:00 p.m.
NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF BOOK
EQUALIZATION AND REVIEW, March 28, 2012 PAGE
(noon) on that date in order to be considered as valid appeals for the 2012 tax year.
AGENDA ITEM # 7: Adjournment
There being no further business to consider, Chairman Donald E. Harris recessed the 2012
Board of Equalization and Review at 3:39 p.m. until its opening session scheduled for April 3, 2012.
Respectfully submitted,
Macio Carlton