CHARLOTTE – The new Board of Equalization & Review is holding two meetings this week in preparation for hearing formal appeals to new property values issued by the tax assessor in the 2011 Property Revaluation.

The Board of Equalization & Review is a panel of 15 citizens appointed by the Board of County Commissioners that reviews assessments appealed by property owners. As of April 22, 41,748 property owners have filed informal appeals, which are being reviewed by tax assessor staff. The formal appeal process is step two in a potential three-step process that ends with the N.C. Property Tax Commission.

The General Assembly gave Mecklenburg County approval to increase the size of the Board of Equalization and Review to 15 members this year to help with an expected 8,000 formal appeals. Both meetings this week – at 9 a.m. Tuesday, April 26, and Thursday, April 28 – were called for orientation and organization of the panel.

The board will operate in five panels of three members each, membership rotating among panels as needed, to hear as many appeals as possible. The board may decrease, increase or adjust the assessment or leave the assessment the same.

The board will hear appeals throughout May and June. Property owners have until the board’s adjournment to file a formal appeal. The hearings on the third floor of the Robert “Bob” Walton Plaza, 700 E. Stonewall St., are open to the public, and county officials will provide more details when a schedule is final.