More stats on tax revaluations

And, we're back. The pie chart in this week's issue came out clearly enough with distinctive colors, but what it didn't have was percentages tied to each color. That seemed extraneous for the size of chart we were running. Anyways, here's the raw numbers on what percentage of total county properties increased by "X" percent (from the tax assessor's office — percentages rounded to tenths of a percent):

Zero to 16-percent increase in real property valuation between 2005 and 2009: 19.5 percent (9,134 total)

More than 16 percent but less than or equal to a 24-percent increase: 35 percent (16,423)

More than 24 percent but less than or equal to a 33-percent increase: 24.6 percent (11,512)

More than 33 percent but less than or equal to a 40-percent increase: 9.9 percent (4,640)

More than 40, less than 50 percent: 6.2 percent (2,885)

More than 50, less than 100: 4.4 percent (2,052)

More than 100, less than 200: 0.4 percent (202)

More than 200 percent: less than 0.1 percent (40)


Since the number of appeals reported by the state are probably lower than the total as of this week, we'll have an update on the total number of appeals in Orange County next week. One of our sister papers, the Mebane Enterprise, reports that neighboring Alamance County has had more than 10,000 appeals. But there are a few important distinctions: Alamance has 68,000 taxed properties, compared to 55,000 listed for Orange by the state Department of Revenue; and Alamance last conducted a revaluation in 2001.

If Orange County waited another four years before raising property values, one could guess that the number of appeals would be exponentially higher, given the more extreme jump in valuations.

We'll be back with more news and notes later today or early tomorrow.

CORRECTION: The "refer" on the bottom of page 1 of the print edition said the letter from commissioners is on page 4. It's at the top of page 5.