Tax revolt meeting draws crowd

More than 1"000 Orange County residents assembled Monday to rally against the most recent property revaluations.

Chants of ""Tax relief now!"" filled the room as organizers of the meeting" sponsored by FreedomWorks of Orange County" asked for support and gave tips for residents who plan to appeal their valuations.

The group is asking Orange County commissioners to rescind the valuations — which increased values by an average of 24 percent.

""This bunch is not going to give up"" resident Monty Ray said. We're going to fight harder.""

Residents contend that the county can throw out its policy to do revaluations every four years and follow state requirements to do them every eight.

Though there is no clear answer to the legality of the move" County Manager Laura Blackmon is presenting it as an option to commissioners for a meeting tonight.

But the manager is recommending that commissioners not rescind the revaluations but instead enact a revenue-neutral tax rate which would mean tax increases for properties which had an increased value of more than 16 percent.

Organizers at the Monday meeting also instructed residents about the appeal process for new revaluations. Residents can appeal their property valuations up until March 31. After that date appeals may be made to the Board of Equalization and Review.

Joe Phelps a realtor from Hillsborough encouraged residents to fill out the appeal forms available on the county Web site.

The tax assessor's office will reassess the property in question and submit their opinion by mail. Residents can then choose to accept the opinion or appeal again to the board of equalization.

But if they choose to appeal further Phelps said they need to bring more solid evidence.

Deputy County Tax Assessor Judy Ryan said in an interview that her office had received about 2100 appeals as of Monday much more than initially expected.

An increased number of appeals from tax revolters could lead to a slower system she said.

She added that this could be an issue for taxpayers" since it would take assessors longer to complete each appeal.

Monday's meeting was one of many that hundreds of residents attended.

""I've been rather surprised at the turnouts"" said Roy Loflin, spokesman for FreedomWorks of Orange County. I haven't seen them as fired up as they are now.""

Residents were encouraged to stick together and to contribute with time as well as money.

Resident Bob Mason said the turnout gave him hope for the success of the protests.

""By golly we can stand up and do something.""



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