Matthews, NC -
Around 60 Mecklenburg County residents heard from an independent firm for the first time about the property tax revaluation process, and the surrounding investigation.
Monday's meeting, held in Matthews, was the first of six meetings to allow the public to speak directly to the independent investigative firm about the revaluation process last year.
Pearson's Appraisal Service is conducting the independent review, after tens of thousands of residents say they paid too much in property taxes last year. Many residents blame the Mecklenburg County Tax Assessor's Office.
County commissioners approved a contract of up to $250,000 to hire Pearson's Appraisal Service.
On Monday, residents received a briefing on the review phases and schedule. Pearson's expects to have the investigation complete by November.
"It's pointless because it's not independent because they (Mecklenburg County) are paying for the review. The reviewer is going to be biased toward the person paying them," said resident Chuck Renner.
Pearson's denies Renner's charge and said, "This is an independent process. We have very little contact with the county and have almost no contact with county staff. We have to have contact to be able to get to the information that the county has," said Emmett Curl with Pearson's.
Pearson's representatives also will facilitate discussions following the review in the fall and explain the results to residents.
There are several more meetings that are open to the public. Registration is not required. All meetings are from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Meetings will be held on the following dates:
July 30 – District 6 - Matthews Town Hall - 232 Matthews Station Street
July 31 - District 1 – Cornelius Town Hall - 21445 Catawba Ave.
August 2 – District 3 – Beatties Ford Branch – Public Library - 2412 Beatties Ford Road
August 6 – District 4 – Charlotte Mecklenburg Government Center - 600 East 4th Street
August 7 - District 5 - Charlotte Mecklenburg Senior Centers - 2225 Tyvola Road
August 9 – District 2 – First Baptist West Chapel - 1801 Oaklawn Ave.
Visit the Mecklenburg County revaluation process Web site for more information.
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