§ 105-296. Powers and duties of assessor. - North Carolina Statutes

§ 105‑296.  Powers andduties of assessor.

(a)        The county assessorshall have general charge of the listing, appraisal, and assessment of allproperty in the county in accordance with the provisions of law. He shallperform the duties imposed upon him by law, and he shall have and exercise allpowers reasonably necessary in the performance of his duties not inconsistentwith the Constitution or the laws of this State.

(b)        Within budgetedappropriations, he shall employ listers, appraisers, and clerical assistantsnecessary to carry out the listing, appraisal, assessing, and billing functionsrequired by law. The assessor may allocate responsibility among such employeesby territory, by subject matter, or on any other reasonable basis. Each personemployed by the assessor as a real property appraiser or personal propertyappraiser shall during the first year of employment and at least every otheryear thereafter attend a course of instruction in his area of work. At the endof the first year of their employment, such persons shall also achieve apassing score on a comprehensive examination in property tax administrationconducted by the Department of Revenue.

(c)        At least 10 daysbefore the date as of which property is to be listed, he shall advertise in anewspaper having general circulation in the county and post in at least fivepublic places in each township in the county a notice containing at least thefollowing:

(1)        The date as of whichproperty is to be listed.

(2)        The date on whichlisting will begin.

(3)        The date on whichlisting will end.

(4)        The times betweenthe date mentioned in subdivision (c)(2), above, and the date mentioned insubdivision (c)(3), above, during which lists will be accepted.

(5)        The place or placesat which lists will be accepted at the times established under subdivision(c)(4), above.

(6)        A statement that allpersons who, on the date as of which property is to be listed, own propertysubject to taxation must list such property within the period set forth in thenotice and that any person who fails to do so will be subject to the penaltiesprescribed by law.

If the listing period is extendedin any county by the board of county commissioners, the assessor shalladvertise in the newspaper in which the original notice was published and postin the same places a notice of the extension and of the times during which andthe place or places at which lists will be accepted during the extended period.

(d) through (f)         Repealedby Session Laws 1987, c. 43, s. 2.

(g)        He shall have powerto subpoena any person for examination under oath and to subpoena documentswhenever he has reasonable grounds for the belief that such person hasknowledge or that such documents contain information that is pertinent to thediscovery or valuation of any property subject to taxation in the county orthat is necessary for compliance with the requirements as to what the tax listshall contain. The subpoena shall be signed by the chairman of the board ofequalization and review if that board is in session; otherwise, it shall besigned by the chairman of the board of county commissioners. It shall be servedby an officer qualified to serve subpoenas. Any person who shall wilfully failor refuse to appear, produce subpoenaed documents, or testify concerning thesubject of the inquiry shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

(h)        Only after theabstract has been carefully reviewed can the assessor require any personoperating a business enterprise in the county to submit a detailed inventory,statement of assets and liabilities, or other similar information pertinent tothe discovery or appraisal of property taxable in the county. Inventories,statements of assets and liabilities, or other information secured by theassessor under the terms of this subsection, but not expressly required by thisSubchapter to be shown on the abstract itself, shall not be open to publicinspection but shall be made available, upon request, to representatives of theDepartment of Revenue or of the Employment Security Commission. Any assessor orother official or employee disclosing information so obtained, except as may benecessary in listing or appraising property in the performance of officialduties, or in the administrative or judicial proceedings relating to listing,appraising, or other official duties, shall be guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanorand punishable only by a fine not exceeding fifty dollars ($50.00).

(i)         Prior to the firstmeeting of the board of equalization and review, the assessor may, for goodcause, change the appraisal of any property subject to assessment for thecurrent year. Written notice of a change in assessment shall be given to thetaxpayer at his last known address prior to the first meeting of the board ofequalization and review.

(j)         The assessor mustannually review at least one eighth of the parcels in the county classified fortaxation at present‑use value to verify that these parcels qualify forthe classification. By this method, the assessor must review the eligibility ofall parcels classified for taxation at present‑use value in an eight‑yearperiod. The period of the review process is based on the average of thepreceding three years' data. The assessor may request assistance from the FarmService Agency, the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of ForestResources of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, or othersimilar organizations.

The assessor may require theowner of classified property to submit any information, including soundmanagement plans for forestland, needed by the assessor to verify that theproperty continues to qualify for present‑use value taxation. The ownerhas 60 days from the date a written request for the information is made tosubmit the information to the assessor. If the assessor determines the ownerfailed to make the information requested available in the time required withoutgood cause, the property loses its present‑use value classification andthe property's deferred taxes become due and payable as provided in G.S. 105‑277.4(c).If the property loses its present‑use value classification for failure toprovide the requested information, the assessor must reinstate the property'spresent‑use value classification when the owner submits the requestedinformation within 60 days after the disqualification unless the informationdiscloses that the property no longer qualifies for present‑use valueclassification. When a property's present‑use value classification isreinstated, it is reinstated retroactive to the date the classification wasrevoked and any deferred taxes that were paid as a result of the revocationmust be refunded to the property owner. The owner may appeal the final decisionof the assessor to the county board of equalization and review as provided inG.S. 105‑277.4(b1).

In determining whetherproperty is operating under a sound management program, the assessor mustconsider any weather conditions or other acts of nature that prevent thegrowing or harvesting of crops or the realization of income from cattle, swine,or poultry operations. The assessor must also allow the property owner tosubmit additional information before making this determination.

(k)        He shall furnishinformation to the Department of Revenue as required by the Department toconduct studies in accordance with G.S. 105‑289(h).

(l)         The assessor shallannually review at least one‑eighth of the parcels in the county exemptedor excluded from taxation to verify that these parcels qualify for theexemption or exclusion. By this method, the assessor shall review theeligibility of all parcels exempted or excluded from taxation in an eight‑yearperiod. The assessor may require the owner of exempt or excluded property tomake available for inspection any information reasonably needed by the assessorto verify that the property continues to qualify for the exemption orexclusion. The owner has 60 days from the date a written request for theinformation is made to submit the information to the assessor. If the assessordetermines that the owner failed to make the information requested available inthe time required without good cause, then the property loses its exemption orexclusion. If the property loses its exemption or exclusion for failure toprovide the requested information, the assessor must reinstate the property'sexemption or exclusion when the owner makes the requested information availablewithin 60 days after the disqualification unless the information discloses thatthe property is no longer eligible for the exemption or exclusion.

(m)       The assessor shallannually review the transportation corridor official maps and amendments tothem filed with the register of deeds pursuant to Article 2E of Chapter 136 ofthe General Statutes. The assessor must indicate on all tax maps maintained bythe county or city that portion of the properties embraced within atransportation corridor and must note any variance granted for the property forsuch period as the designation remains in effect. The assessor must tax theproperty within a transportation corridor as required under G.S. 105‑277.9.(1939, c. 310,ss. 403, 404; 1953, c. 970, s. 3; 1955, c. 1012, s. 1; 1957, c. 202; 1959, c.740, s. 3; 1963, c. 302; 1971, c. 806, s. 1; 1973, c. 560; 1983, c. 813, s. 3;1985, c. 518, s. 2; 1987, c. 43, s. 2; c. 45, ss. 1, 2; c. 830, s. 84(b); 1987(Reg. Sess., 1988), c. 1044, s. 13; 1991, c. 34, s. 2; c. 77, s. 1; 1993, c.539, ss. 715, 716; 1994, Ex. Sess., c. 24, s. 14(c); 2001‑139, ss. 3‑5;2002‑184, s. 6; 2005‑313, s. 7; 2005‑386, s. 1.4.)