Orange County Board of Commissioners considers future of tax revaluation

The Orange County Board of Commissioners will decide whether to delay expensive property revaluations as its budget is tight and the last survey showed little change.

After a presentation Tuesday night discussing the future tax revaluation schedule, which was moved from a six-year cycle to four-year cycle in 1993, commissioners sought to further review the time sensitivity of the process.

The purpose of a revaluation is to ensure that all residents are having their assets accurately taxed.

“Historically, at this point, in a revaluation nearly two years out, we would be sitting at somewhere between eight and 12 percent in growth (in value from sales),” said Jo Roberson, director of tax administration. “We have had one-third of a percent of growth. That’s all.

“That’s very important to keep in your mind as you make your deliberations as to the directions you wish to give us.”

The county has experienced a 50 percent drop in property sales in the past 22 months, she said.

But commissioner Pam Hemminger said the revaluation may not be worth its cost.

“If we did a reval we would spend $213,000 to probably find out … that the numbers haven’t changed on the whole,” Hemminger said. “We might be better off saving the $213,000 and being able to get closer to the new values in two years.”

Commissioner Barry Jacobs said the board needed to be conscious about acting as though things are not going to change.

“To wait six years … people will clearly see it as a way of avoiding being honest with taxpayers about what their property is worth,” Jacobs said.

The discussion follows the defeat of the quarter-cent sales tax increase, which was predicted to annually bring $2.3 million into county coffers.

The board will decide when to revaluate in a meeting before the end of the year.

Light rail

Commissioners also questioned how sensible it would be to continue light rail discussions before improving overall county transit.

Craig Benedict, Orange County planning director, said transit initiatives include a new bus system and a light rail system.

“In the early years we’re spending money on buses, we’re saving money in order to invest in light rail,” Benedict said. “In 2015, we’re using those monies to spend money on light rail. By 2022, that’s when light rail would roughly come on-line.”

Commissioner Vice-Chairwoman Bernadette Pelissier said the county should focus on successful transit to engage residents before diving into light rail development.

“The basic principle was that you were going to have enhanced bus services, get people used to using transit, have it successful before you would have them using the light rail,” Pelissier said. “Maybe we just need to have a plan with our local dollars and make a transit system work that is both regional as well as local.”

Accounting terminology

Clarence Grier, Orange County’s financial services director, gave a presentation on the Government Accounting Standards Board Statement No. 54 Fund Balance definitions and how they could change the county’s financial reporting.

Grier said fund balance, which he defined as the difference between assets and liabilities, has had issues with widespread confusion on terminology.

“One of the problems that’s occurred with fund balance is that people report the components of fund balance in various different ways depending on which government you go to,” Grier said. “What we want to do is standardize the definitions.”

He said the new system defines general funds, special revenue funds and capital project funds. The standard also defines components of fund balance as non-spendable, restricted, committed, assigned and unassigned.

Fund balances were previously defined as either reserved or designated.

“We want to make sure we provide sufficient cash for the daily financial needs of the county, secure and maintain investment bond ratings,” Grier said. “We want to provide adequate reserves to offset significant economic downturns or revenue shortfalls and provide adequate reserves for unforeseen expenditures.”

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