BURGAW — Residents of Pender County are due for a state-mandated, property tax reassessment from the Pender County Tax Assessor’s Office, according to a press release from Pender County.
“Pender County is comprised of almost 50,000 parcels,” said Randell Woodruff, Pender County manager. “The goal of the tax assessor’s office is to set evaluations of all properties at a fair market value.”
But it’s not the role of the assessor’s office to determine the amount of taxes collected — that is up to the tax rate set by elected officials. Instead, the assessor’s responsibility is to find the market value of a property.
“The amount of tax residents pay is determined by a tax rate applied to each property’s assessed value. The tax rate is determined by all the taxing agencies, including city and or county, fire districts and others,” according to the release.
So what happens if you receive an increased reevaluation and feel it is not accurate?
“If a resident can’t sell the property for the new reevaluation rate, residents have the right to appeal,” said Woodruff. “Residents with significant damage from Hurricane Florence may also appeal.”
“The tax assessor’s office provides an online reevaluation appeals document on the county’s website, www.pendercountync.gov. Supporting documents, such as recent property appraisals by a mortgage company or documentation of present storm damage, should also be included with the appeal,” according to the release. “Pender County undergoes a tax reevaluation every 8 years. Some counties perform reevaluations every 4 years.”
For more information regarding property reevaluation, call the Pender County Tax Assessor office at 910-259-1221.
