Property Values Down in York County

By Sam Thrift Friday, January 06, 2012

York County residents saw a drop in their real estate assessments this weekend, similar to neighboring Williamsburg residents, whose assessments were given in July.

County Administrator James McReynolds said York County’s current real estate assessments are down by approximately 4.5 percent compared to the 2010 assessment.  For fiscal year 2013, the county is expecting real estate tax revenues to be down by approximately $1.5 million. The decrease in 2010 was 1.4 percent, or $800,000 in revenue.

McReynolds predicted in a Board of Supervisors meeting in December that the county would see a 2 to 3 percent reduction in property assessments, resulting in a loss of $1 million in revenue.

“Any loss of funds has the potential to influence the development of the fiscal year 2013 budget,” McReynolds said. “However, we are just beginning to put together the budget and do not yet have firm projections of estimated revenues.”

District 5 Supervisor Tom Shepperd, who was elected the board chair this week, said that the real estate assessment numbers were not a surprise compared to previous years.

“We had a surprise 2006 with the assessment when it went up about 30 percent,” Shepperd said.

The Board of Supervisors can decide to change the property tax rate to keep the cost more level. Shepperd said that is something the board did by reducing the tax rate in 2007 when the housing market got “crazy.”

The tax rate for 2011 was .6575 per hundred of the assessed valuation, according to the York County website.

Shepperd said increasing the property tax rate is an option on the table, but there are plenty of other factors to consider.

“With the double whammy of losing businesses like the refinery and the housing market, it’s kind of like the perfect storm,” Shepperd said. “On top of that we have to deal with unfunded mandates from the state. How do we make it up? Do we cut more, or offset with a tax rate increase?”

The city of Williamsburg’s annual assessment period is concurrent with the fiscal year, from July through June. City residents received their real estate assessments at the beginning of July. The assessments dropped for the second year in a row, down 5 percent from fiscal year 2011.

Last year, the city received $9 million in revenue from real estate taxes. City Assessor John Mattson said it is too early to estimate what the city’s real estate tax revenue will be for fiscal year 2013, but said he keeps city leaders informed with frequent updates as he goes. “It’s a work in progress,” he said. “It’s not looking into a crystal ball.”

In James City County, the total land value numbers aren't due until the end of January. Residents there won't get notified about changes in assessments until the end of February.