2017-01-05 Agenda Review
NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BOOK 33
AGENDA REVIEW MEETING, JANUARY 5, 2017 PAGE 660
ASSEMBLY
The New Hanover County Board of Commissioners met for Agenda Review on Thursday, January 5, 2017
at 4:00 p.m. in the Harrell Conference Room at the New Hanover County Government Center, 230 Government Center
Drive, Wilmington, North Carolina.
Members present: Chairman Woody White; Commissioner Jonathan Barfield, Jr.; Commissioner Patricia
Kusek; and Commissioner Rob Zapple. Vice-Chairman Skip Watkins was absent.
Staff present: County Manager Chris Coudriet; County Attorney Wanda Copley; and Clerk to the Board
Kymberleigh G. Crowell.
Chairman White called the Agenda Review meeting to order and announced that the purpose of the meeting
is to review and discuss the agenda items for the January 9, 2017 Regular Meeting with discussions as noted:
Consent Item 2. Approval of Appointments of Commissioners to Various Boards and Committees.
Chairman White led the Board in the discussion of Commissioner appointments to various boards and committees for
2017, with the Board having consensus on the appointments. The appointment sheet will be updated and disbursed
to the Board for Monday’s vote.
Regular Item 5. Consideration of a Resolution of Appreciation to the Board of Elections, Director,
and Staff.
Commissioner Zapple will read the resolution into the record.
Regular Item 6. Public Hearing. Rezoning Request (Z-959M, 12/16) – Request by H+W Design on
Behalf of the Property Owner, Raleigh Wilmington Investors, LLC, to Rezone 20.7 Acres Located at the 2300
& 2400 block of Middle Sound Loop Road from (CZD) R-20, Conditional Residential Zoning District, and R-
20S, Residential Zoning District, to (CZD) R-20, Conditional Residential Zoning District, in Order to Develop
a Performance Residential Development.
In response to Board questions, Current Planner Brad Schuler explained
this zoning district allows performance residential development which allows for smaller lot sizes and more open
space. The subdivision plat included in the agenda packets shows the proposed open space and the slide presentation
for Monday’s meeting includes the information.
Staff Updates: Property Tax Revaluation Update
County Manager Coudriet asked Tax Administrator Allison Snell to present the update on the 2017 Property
Tax Revaluation as follows:
Revaluation Review:
September 2013 began the full list and measure:
Measuring from outside corner to outside corner
Taking pictures of residential/commercial structures
Verifying/updating details that are currently on the property tax cards
Not everyone is home:
Appraisers leave door hangers
Mailing of Property Tax Questionnaires:
2016: 81,374 mailed; 5,400 responded (6%)
2017: 89,788 mailed; 2,000 responded (2%)
Issues: Square footage, bed/bath count, fireplace gas/wood, story height
Where we are:
Residential review: 95% complete; Start: 3/2016; End: 1/2017
Commercial Review: 95% complete; Start: 6/2016; End: 1/2017
Industrial review: 95% complete; Start: 6/2016; End: 1/2017
Effective date of reappraisal: January 1, 2017
“Notice of Value” mail out: February 2017
Informal hearings: February 2017 - March 2017
Board of Equalization and Review hearings begin April 2017
What we are seeing:
2016/2017 - Current Year 2017/2018
Real Property 26,327,032,860 28,038,289,995 6.10%
-250,000,000 Appeals/Exemptions (Est.)
(Per 2016-2017 Quarterly)
27,788,289,995
Personal Property 217,324,794 217,324,794
Business Personal Property 1,360,660,191 1,360,660,191
Motor Vehicles 1,895,500,000 1,895,500,000
State Appraised 640,009,431 638,000,000
30,440,527,276 31,899,744,980 4.58%
These numbers are preliminary, are not final and are subject to change
Motor Vehicle value is estimated value for current year as it’s not billed all at once like the others
In response to Board questions, Tax Administrator Snell stated that the Tax Department does not have the
same access as in the past to the Board of Realtors’ Multiple Listing Service (MLS) database. The information is
NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BOOK 33
AGENDA REVIEW MEETING, JANUARY 5, 2017 PAGE 661
provided as a spreadsheet document showing residential and commercial sales for the month. The same information
included in the MLS listings is included in the spreadsheet. The $28 billion increase for real property is due to an
increase in both organic growth and property values. There is a lot of new construction in personal and commercial
property. Ms. Snell re-emphasized that this information is preliminary and subject to change. The State appraised
property decrease reflects a business that closed and it is an estimated dollar amount. Ms. Snell then provided an
overview of the taxable value comparison chart:
Taxable Value Comparison:
2007 2012 2017 Est.
Real 29,071,789,319 24,960,307,036 27,788,289,995
Personal 1,946,705,726 2,277,505,916 2,215,984,985
Motor Vehicle 1,706,890,182 1,641,874,655 1,895,500,000
Total Base 32,725,385,227 28,879,687,607 31,899,744,980
County Manager Coudriet noted that there was a $5 billion decrease in the taxable base between 2007 to
2012. In 2007, the County had a $34 billion base and after revaluation it decreased to $28.8 billion in 2012. This
resulted in an approximately fifteen percent decrease in the tax base. 2012 was the first time in the County’s history
where the revenue neutral was a rate up instead of a rate down.
In response to Board questions, Tax Administrator Snell explained that she feels the ninety-nine percent
collection rate will be able to be maintained due to the very strong Tax Department Collections team. The goal is to
collect as much as possible and staff has a drive and desire to work to achieve this goal. She commended the Tax
Department staff for their hard work. In regard to the informal dispute resolution process, Ms. Snell explained that
each taxpayer who files an appeal will be contacted by staff for an in-depth discussion about what exactly is being
appealed and why, and if necessary there will be another site visit.
Chairman White thanked Ms. Snell for her presentation.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business, Chairman White adjourned the meeting at 4:20 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Kymberleigh G. Crowell
Clerk to the Board
Please note that the above minutes are not a verbatim of the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners meeting.