As part of a press release this week titled, Board of Supervisors December Recap, the Pittsylvania County government provided the following information about the extension of its 2022 tax reassessment:
“A sharp increase in property values has taken place across the Country, and that increase has also been reflected in Pittsylvania County’s 2022 reassessment process. To account for the influx of concerns and questions from property owners that have stemmed from this increase, Pittsylvania County is extending the 2022 reassessment process. An extension of up to 90 days has been granted by the Circuit Court. This will allow for the improvement of the customer service experience for County property owners and will allow the Virginia Department of Taxation to serve in an advisory capacity.
“There have been many unusual circumstances that have impacted Pittsylvania County’s 2022 reassessment process,” said Bob Warren, Chairman of the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors. “With the drastic rise in property values, we believe that this 90-day extension will ensure that adequate review can occur and will allow more property owners to have appeals meetings with Brightminds.”
The Board of Supervisors passed a motion approving the extension, the County’s engagement with the Virginia Department of Taxation, and negotiations for additional meetings with Brightminds.
Pittsylvania County is required to complete the reassessment process by the end of 2021, but this extension, as allowed by State Code 58.1-3257, grants an additional three months before the new values are certified and moved into the County records. This brings the final deadline to March 31, 2022.
Some of the factors that have led to the need for an extension include:
- The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacting staffing and workflows for both Pittsylvania County and Brightminds
- The unprecedented increase in property values over the past four years, which was largely caused by supply and demand shifts that resulted from the pandemic.
Pittsylvania County staff filed the extension petition in Circuit Court on Monday morning, and the request was granted later that day.
Brightminds staff conducted over a thousand appeals meetings with Pittsylvania County property owners between December 6 and 17. However, due to the increase in property values that occurred over the past four years, more property owners than was expected have requested to meet with Brightminds. Brightminds was not able to meet with every property owner that requested a meeting; some property owners still have not heard from Brightminds. Extending the reassessment certification deadline will allow for every interested property owner to meet with Brightminds and appeal their property’s assessed value before it goes into the County’s official records. The County is actively working with Brightminds to attempt to schedule additional informal meetings with County property owners in January of 2022.
These informal appeals meetings with Brightminds’ staff serve as a substitute for the Board of Assessors – an alternative reassessment appeals method that Pittsylvania County utilized in the past. Those who are unsatisfied with the results of these meetings with Brightminds can still make a formal appeal to the Board of Equalization, which is expected to convene in the Spring of 2022.
“Providing excellent customer service is a top priority for Pittsylvania County government in all areas, and that is especially true during this reassessment process,” said Vic Ingram, Tunstall District Supervisor who made the motion to authorize the extension. “We believe that this extension will allow us to adequately serve our residents and property owners by giving more time for these appeals meetings.”
Legally required by the Commonwealth of Virginia, reassessment is when up-to-date property values are determined for an entire locality or municipality. Updated values are determined through photographs, aerial images, and observations from a trained crew of property assessors. There are many complicated formulas and factors involved in determining and updating property values, which are kept by the Commissioner of the Revenue and used for taxation.
Pittsylvania County hired Brightminds in June of 2020 to complete the reassessment process, and preliminary work began in the summer of 2020. After more than a year of work visiting and viewing properties, conducting sales studies, and developing valuation tables, updated valuations were mailed out in November of 2021. As a whole, the assessed value of Pittsylvania County rose approximately 22% between the 2018 and 2022 reassessments. The increase in residential properties was 33%. You can view an interactive map of County properties and the sales study that Brightminds developed here. You can also learn more about the reassessment process.”
