Scott County twice-yearly tax collections going to a public hearing

GATE CITY — Scott County residents will soon get their say on a proposal to split real estate tax collections into two annual payments. The county Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 at Wednesday's November regular meeting to plan for a public hearing on the measure, which was offered to the board as a recommendation by David Rose, David Rose, senior vice president of financial advisor firm Davenport. During the October presentation, Rose said switching to twice-annual collections included several benefits for taxpayers and the county — spreading out the payment size for taxpayers, giving the county a more even revenue flow and giving the county a one-time revenue boost of as much as $5 million for the first year of implementation. County Administrator Josh Wilson told board members they might want to base any decision on the new collection cycle on a planned reassessment starting in 2027. District 4 Supervisor Michael Brickey said the current annual November tax payment deadline is a legacy of when county residents had tobacco allotments. Resident growers depended on the fall tobacco warehouse auctions for money to pay taxes and buy Christmas presents. Later in the meeting, the board voted 5-0 to negotiate a contract with local firm Commonwealth Real Estate Group to handle county reassessment and to update land parcel records for accurate owner information. CREG's proposal was based on a cost of $23.75 per parcel.The county has approximately $150,000 allocated in the current budget for reassessment, Wilson said, while the estimated total cost is more than $500,000. During the tax collection discussion, District 1 Supervisor Darrell Jeter said county landowners already have the option to make partial payments on them throughout the year. A twice-yearly system would set deadlines to pay each half of the annual real estate tax bill.Jeter was the lone vote against the public hearing. Wilson said Thursday that the public hearing should be set for the supervisors' December regular meeting.