by Katie Orlando

CHARLOTTE – The Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners will decide at its June 5 meeting how to best proceed with the county revaluation review process.

The county tax assessor’s office revalued properties earlier this year, raising ire when new values jumped higher than residents expected 10 years after the last revaluation.

Concerned north Mecklenburg citizens rallied for reform in the process. Former Cornelius Commissioner Jim Bensman leads a task force working on behalf of residents whose property taxes will jump exponentially in some cases this year.

The board of county commissioners voted May 15 to go ahead with an official outside revaluation review.

The Citizen’s Revaluation Advisory Committee will present its suggestions June 5 for the scope of work that a review would entail. Commissioners will be asked to approve a request for proposal to put the review out for bid, county information specialist Roger Kortekaas said.

“The Citizens Revaluation Advisory Committee will be involved in an advisory capacity with the selected vendor on the front and back end of the review,” Kortekaas said.

Bensman said this next step could be good -- or bad -- for citizens concerned about how the process went this year.

“We want a proper vetting of the whole process,” Bensman said. “If the scope of work is incomplete or too narrow (we won’t be happy).”

County Manager Harry Jones will recommend a reviewer to the board July 3, county legislation details show. The board should see an estimate June 19 of the costs and the scope of potential challenges for the next revaluation in 2014 or 2015.

North Carolina District 103 Representative Bill Brawley is starting to look into the situation, meeting with interested parties and gathering information for the state to stay informed.

“The good news is the state is starting to take a close look at it,” Bensman said.

The Herald was unable to reach Brawley for comment before press time.

Residents who have appealed their revaluations should continue the appeal process, even as the entire process is reviewed.

Visit charmeck.org/Mecklenburg/county and click on “Reval Appeals Info” for more information on the appeals process.