Taxation

I attended the Buncombe County Commission meeting on July 19 to comment on two issues before the Commissioners. The first concerned providing annual line-item funding for the ongoing work of the Reparations Commission. The second addressed the disturbing findings of Urban 3, under the direction of Joe Manicozzi, that clearly show a pattern of the County assessments undervaluing the property of wealthy property owners and overvaluing the most modest homes, and especially cost-burdening homeowners in legacy Black neighborhoods.

I’m also pursuing an investigation into the problematic nature of Land Incentive Use Grants that depend on speculative or initial valuations on property value, which then pass on to whomever owns the property for the term of the grant agreement, no matter what happens to the subsequent value of the property. In many cases, this probably makes LUIG agreements a bad deal both for the City (substantial foregone tax revue) and for residents who may end up having to make up the difference for that missing revenue as the City’s financial needs grow.

FYI, here’s an eight-minute video wherein Mr. Manicozzi outlines the fax assessment disparities. I urge you to view it.