assessment

An Augusta County Circuit Court threw out a suit brought by Francis Chester, a Churchville lawyer who was attempting to have the county's 2009 real estate reassessments overturned. The ruling effectively ends Chester's effort, he said: "The court has made its decision and at this particular point the people are not going to have their day in court, which has been my goal," Chester said. "But this is the court's decision, so I'm putting an end to the case. I've taken it as far as I can, and there is not much more to do."

Property assessments are of keen interest to homeowners, as tax bills are based on the assessed values of homes.

Read more in The News Leader....

Gloucester County's next assessments are due in 17 months, but County Assessor Reese Milligan says that budget cuts and flawed data will prevent them from being completed on time.

Much of the flawed data was inherited from a previous assessment, and everything has to be verified in the field, which is a large-scale project, Milligan said.

Homeowners benefit from accurate property assessments, which reflect the sale value of their homes.

Read more at The Daily Press....

Verizon is challenging the assessed value of its property in Virginia. If the move is successful, the telecommunications giant would pay about $500,000 less in taxes in the Lynchburg region.

If its property assessments are lowered, the company will ask for refunds on its 2009 property taxes. A public hearing on the matter will be held in March 2011.

Losing such a significant source of tax revenue would force localities to make up the difference by cutting services or raising money in other areas. Homeowners could see higher taxes and fees as a result.

Read more in the Lynchburgh News & Advance....

The Stafford County Board of Supervisors may advertise a real estate tax rate two cents less than what the county administrator has proposed.

The Budget and Finance Committee has recommended a tax rate of $1.12 per $100 of assessed value, up from the current 84-cent rate. The higher rate makesup for the recent drop seen in most property values, meaning average homeowners would not see an increase in their property tax bills if the rate is adopted.

Read more at The Free-Lance Star....

Chesterfield County's spending from the general fund will be down for the second year in a row -- 2.1% less than last year -- dropping to $700.4 million. This year’s budget dropped to $714 million from $749 million in 2009.

About 45% of the general fund comes from real estate taxes. According to Jonathan Davis, the county’s director of real estate assessments, residential assessments are down 4% from November 2009 to January this year.

Read more at the Chesterfield Observer....