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Stafford Deputy Assessor Terrence Murray used the quiet of yesterday's county holiday to get property reassessments ready to mail to residents by Feb. 1.
Stafford Assessor Dick Jones Jr. works on the details of updating land values Stafford County assessors Terrence Murray (left) and Dick Jones Jr. work side by side to make sure new land values are accurate. |
By EDIE GROSS
With a holiday declared at the Stafford County Government Center, phones didn't ring there yesterday.
Lines didn't form at office counters. And in-boxes didn't fill with urgent e-mails.
The day off for county employees turned out to be a perfect day to work for its property assessors.
Holed up in the Commissioner of Revenue's conference room, county Assessor Dick Jones Jr. and Deputy Assessor Terrence Murray pored over spreadsheets and colorful tax maps showing land values and zoning codes.
The values of some 45,000 residential and commercial properties must be calculated by early January. Coming in over the Christmas holiday ensures that it gets done, Jones said.
"We don't have to fool with the telephones," he said. "It gives us the ability to work and think."
The money Stafford raises in property taxes--$92.2 million last year--is the single largest source of local income for the county, said Revenue Commissioner Scott Mayausky, who also was working yesterday.
While the Board of Supervisors sets the tax rate--97 cents per $100 of property value right now--appraisers in Mayausky's office compute the value of each piece of property every two years.
The growth in Stafford is so dynamic that appraisers are working on those biennial calculations almost constantly. But since the property values must be current as of Jan. 1, they wait until right about now to assign dollar figures.
The last time they reassessed property in 2004, the average Stafford home was worth $240,000, up 37 percent from $175,000 two years before.
Mayausky, Jones and Murray said they aren't sure just yet what property values will look like for 2006. It's a safe bet that they're rising, though some neighborhoods will experience larger increases than others.
"People banter around the word 'market' like it's one market across the nation," Murray said. "Even within Stafford County, we have submarkets. We're dealing with microeconomics, not macroeconomics."
In addition, development in Stafford has broadened the tax base.
"We're not really seeing a slow-down here in Stafford," Jones said. "We're now classified as Northern Virginia, and the Northern Virginia market has definitely come to Stafford."
It's also come to other nearby communities. In November, property-owners in Fairview Beach learned their assessments would increase an average of 130 percent over 2001 values.
King George County's overall real-estate values went up by about 70 percent. And in Westmoreland, assessments increased an average of 84 percent.
Stafford County's five appraisers don't try to predict what the market will do, Murray said. Instead, they rely on historical data to evaluate each piece of property: recent sales in the area, the arrival of new subdivisions and strip malls, additions to homes.
Appraisers also will often visit properties to note improvements like finished basements and backyard decks.
"We've never reported anyone for not taking out a permit," noted Mayausky. "We don't care--just pay taxes on it."
The Commissioner of Revenue's office will send reassessment notices to property owners in February. About 1 percent of those folks appeal changes to their property values, Mayausky said.
As a result, his office may make a few adjustments before finalizing the values in April.
Based on those land values, the Board of Supervisors will set a tax rate that month.
Property owners will receive their actual tax bills from the Treasurer's Office in May and again in November. Half the tax is due in June and the rest in December.
For the next few weeks, the conference area in the Commissioner of Revenue's office will remain "the war room," complete with maps and data of each parcel.
Murray said he's sure assessors in other counties are giving up holidays and weekends, as well.
"This is not unusual for people in our profession throughout Virginia, whether in Fairfax, Prince William or Spotsylvania," he said.
Jones added: "We may be in here next Saturday, too."
To reach EDIE GROSS:
Email: egross@freelancestar.com
