Polk County released Friday, March 24 a statement in response to citizens who attended two commissioners meetings and voiced their dissatisfaction and frustration with their recent property revaluations.

The statement from County Manager Marche Pittman as sent to the Bulletin reads as follows:

“In the last Polk County Commissioner’s meeting, some citizens spoke during public comments who were upset with their property valuations resulting from the re-valuation process. It is important to understand that the Polk County Board of Commissioners have already approved the Schedule of Values and have no way of affecting their individual property valuations. While the Board of Commissioners couldn’t make changes to the schedule of values, or lower valuation, they all understood the concerns of the citizens who spoke so passionately during the meeting.

“While the Board of Commissioners doesn’t have the ability to make changes, the staff of the Tax Office does have the ability to re-look at the neighborhoods and valuations as part of the continuing informal appeal process. After hearing from citizens, the Tax Office staff re-evaluated the supporting documents in some of the affected neighborhoods. They found that some changes were warranted, based on information received during informal hearings, and they were applied to all of the affected neighborhoods. Some of the information that is available on the Polk County GIS website, shows changed values from when the valuations were originally sent out by the Tax Office. If your property value has changed, you will receive a notice from the Polk County Tax Assessor’s Office.

“We have also reached out to our state legislators to attempt to set up a meeting for the local citizens to provide input to them on the process of re-valuation. Further, we have confirmed with the North Carolina School of Government that we are making citizens aware of all tax relief programs that are available to them from Polk County and the State of North Carolina.
“We appreciate the citizens giving us input during our public meetings. Further, we appreciate the fact that people are taking advantage of the informal and formal appeal process. Remember, to file a formal or informal public appeal, contact the Polk County Tax Office at 828-894-8500.”