§ 105-322. County board of equalization and review. - North Carolina Statutes

Article 21.

Review and Appeals ofListings and Valuations.

§ 105‑322.  County boardof equalization and review.

(a)        Personnel. – Exceptas otherwise provided herein, the board of equalization and review of eachcounty shall be composed of the members of the board of county commissioners.

Upon the adoption of aresolution so providing, the board of commissioners is authorized to appoint aspecial board of equalization and review to carry out the duties imposed underthis section. The resolution shall provide for the membership, qualifications,terms of office and the filling of vacancies on the board. The board ofcommissioners shall also designate the chairman of the special board. Theresolution may also authorize a taxpayer to appeal a decision of the specialboard with respect to the listing or appraisal of his property or the propertyof others to the board of county commissioners. The resolution shall be adoptednot later than the first Monday in March of the year for which it is to beeffective and shall continue in effect until revised or rescinded. It shall beentered in the minutes of the meeting of the board of commissioners and a copythereof shall be forwarded to the Department of Revenue within 15 days afterits adoption.

Nothing in this subsection (a)shall be construed as repealing any law creating a special board ofequalization and review or creating any board charged with the duties of aboard of equalization and review in any county.

(b)        Compensation. – Theboard of county commissioners shall fix the compensation and allowances to bepaid members of the board of equalization and review for their services andexpenses.

(c)        Oath. – Each memberof the board of equalization and review shall take the oath required by ArticleVI, § 7 of the North Carolina Constitution with the following phrase added toit: "that I will not allow my actions as a member of the board ofequalization and review to be influenced by personal or political friendshipsor obligations,". The oath must be filed with the clerk of the board ofcounty commissioners.

(d)        Clerk and Minutes.– The assessor shall serve as clerk to the board of equalization and review,shall be present at all meetings, shall maintain accurate minutes of theactions of the board, and shall give to the board such information as he mayhave or can obtain with respect to the listing and valuation of taxableproperty in the county.

(e)        Time of Meeting. –Each year the board of equalization and review shall hold its first meeting notearlier than the first Monday in April and not later than the first Monday inMay. In years in which a county does not conduct a real property revaluation,the board shall complete its duties on or before the third Monday following itsfirst meeting unless, in its opinion, a longer period of time is necessary orexpedient to a proper execution of its responsibilities. Except as provided insubdivision (g)(5) of this section, the board may not sit later than July 1except to hear and determine requests made under the provisions of subdivision(g)(2), below, when such requests are made within the time prescribed by law.In the year in which a county conducts a real property revaluation, the boardshall complete its duties on or before December 1, except that it may sit afterthat date to hear and determine requests made under the provisions ofsubdivision (g)(2), below, when such requests are made within the timeprescribed by law. From the time of its first meeting until its adjournment,the board shall meet at such times as it deems reasonably necessary to performits statutory duties and to receive requests and hear the appeals of taxpayersunder the provisions of subdivision (g)(2), below.

(f)         Notice of Meetingsand Adjournment. – A notice of the date, hours, place, and purpose of the firstmeeting of the board of equalization and review shall be published at leastthree times in some newspaper having general circulation in the county, thefirst publication to be at least 10 days prior to the first meeting. The noticeshall also state the dates and hours on which the board will meet following itsfirst meeting and the date on which it expects to adjourn; it shall also carrya statement that in the event of earlier or later adjournment, notice to thateffect will be published in the same newspaper. Should a notice be required onaccount of earlier adjournment, it shall be published at least once in thenewspaper in which the first notice was published, such publication to be atleast five days prior to the date fixed for adjournment. Should a notice berequired on account of later adjournment, it shall be published at least oncein the newspaper in which the first notice was published, such publication tobe prior to the date first announced for adjournment.

(g)        Powers and Duties.– The board of equalization and review has the following powers and duties:

(1)        Duty to Review TaxLists. – The board shall examine and review the tax lists of the county for thecurrent year to the end that all taxable property shall be listed on theabstracts and tax records of the county and appraised according to the standardrequired by G.S. 105‑283, and the board shall correct the abstracts andtax records to conform to the provisions of this Subchapter. In carrying outits responsibilities under this subdivision (g)(1), the board, on its ownmotion or on sufficient cause shown by any person, shall:

a.         List, appraise, andassess any taxable real or personal property that has been omitted from the taxlists.

b.         Correct all errorsin the names of persons and in the description of properties subject totaxation.

c.         Increase or reducethe appraised value of any property that, in the board's opinion, has beenlisted and appraised at a figure that is below or above the appraisal requiredby G.S. 105‑283; however, the board shall not change the appraised valueof any real property from that at which it was appraised for the preceding yearexcept in accordance with the terms of G.S. 105‑286 and 105‑287.

d.         Cause to be donewhatever else is necessary to make the lists and tax records comply with theprovisions of this Subchapter.

e.         Embody actions takenunder the provisions of subdivisions (g)(1)a through (g)(1)d, above, inappropriate orders and have the orders entered in the minutes of the board.

f.          Give written noticeto the taxpayer at the taxpayer's last known address in the event the board, byappropriate order, increases the appraisal of any property or lists fortaxation any property omitted from the tax lists under the provisions of thissubdivision (g)(1).

(2)        Duty to HearTaxpayer Appeals. – On request, the board of equalization and review shall hearany taxpayer who owns or controls property taxable in the county with respectto the listing or appraisal of the taxpayer's property or the property ofothers.

a.         A request for ahearing under this subdivision (g)(2) shall be made in writing to or bypersonal appearance before the board prior to its adjournment. However, if thetaxpayer requests review of a decision made by the board under the provisionsof subdivision (g)(1), above, notice of which was mailed fewer than 15 daysprior to the board's adjournment, the request for a hearing thereon may be madewithin 15 days after the notice of the board's decision was mailed.

b.         Taxpayers may fileseparate or joint requests for hearings under the provisions of thissubdivision (g)(2) at their election.

c.         At a hearing underprovisions of this subdivision (g)(2), the board, in addition to the powers itmay exercise under the provisions of subdivision (g)(3), below, shall hear anyevidence offered by the appellant, the assessor, and other county officialsthat is pertinent to the decision of the appeal. Upon the request of anappellant, the board shall subpoena witnesses or documents if there is areasonable basis for believing that the witnesses have or the documents containinformation pertinent to the decision of the appeal.

d.         On the basis of itsdecision after any hearing conducted under this subdivision (g)(2), the boardshall adopt and have entered in its minutes an order reducing, increasing, orconfirming the appraisal appealed or listing or removing from the tax lists theproperty whose omission or listing has been appealed. The board shall notifythe appellant by mail as to the action taken on the taxpayer's appeal not laterthan 30 days after the board's adjournment.

(3)        Powers in CarryingOut Duties. – In the performance of its duties under subdivisions (g)(1) and(g)(2), above, the board of equalization and review may exercise the followingpowers:

a.         It may appointcommittees composed of its own members or other persons to assist it in makinginvestigations necessary to its work. It may also employ expert appraisers inits discretion. The expense of the employment of committees or appraisers shallbe borne by the county. The board may, in its discretion, require the taxpayerto reimburse the county for the cost of any appraisal by experts demanded bythe taxpayer if the appraisal does not result in material reduction of thevaluation of the property appraised and if the appraisal is not subsequentlyreduced materially by the board or by the Department of Revenue.

b.         The board, in itsdiscretion, may examine any witnesses and documents. It may place any witnessesunder oath administered by any member of the board. It may subpoena witnessesor documents on its own motion, and it must do so when a request is made underthe provisions of subdivision (g)(2)c, above.

Asubpoena issued by the board shall be signed by the chair of the board,directed to the witness or to the person having custody of the document, andserved by an officer authorized to serve subpoenas. Any person who willfullyfails to appear or to produce documents in response to a subpoena or to testifywhen appearing in response to a subpoena shall be guilty of a Class 1misdemeanor.

(4)        Power to SubmitReports. – Upon the completion of its other duties, the board may submit to theDepartment of Revenue a report outlining the quality of the reappraisal, anyproblems it encountered in the reappraisal process, the number of appealssubmitted to the board and to the Property Tax Commission, the success rate ofthe appeals submitted, and the name of the firm that conducted the reappraisal.A copy of the report should be sent by the board to the firm that conducted thereappraisal.

(5)        Duty to ChangeAbstracts and Records After Adjournment. – Following adjournment uponcompletion of its duties under subdivisions (g)(1) and (g)(2) of thissubsection, the board may continue to meet to carry out the following duties:

a.         To hear and decideall appeals relating to discovered property under G.S. 105‑312(d) and(k).

b.         To hear and decideall appeals relating to the appraisal, situs, and taxability of classifiedmotor vehicles under G.S. 105‑330.2(b).

c.         To hear and decideall appeals relating to audits conducted under G.S. 105‑296(j) andrelating to audits conducted under G.S. 105‑296(j) and (l) of propertyclassified at present‑use value and property exempted or excluded fromtaxation.

d.         To hear and decideall appeals relating to personal property under G.S. 105‑317.1(c). (1939, c. 310, s. 1105; 1965,c. 191; 1967, c. 1196, s. 6; 1971, c. 806, s. 1; 1973, c. 476, s. 193; 1977, c.863; 1987, c. 45, s. 1; 1989, c. 79, s. 3; c. 176, s. 1; c. 196; 1991, c. 110,s. 5; 1991 (Reg. Sess., 1992), c. 1007, s. 22; 1993, c. 539, s. 720; 1994, Ex.Sess., c. 24, s. 14(c); 2001‑139, ss. 6, 7; 2002‑156, s. 3.)