Petersburg City Assessor’s Office
Proposes Major Improvements

In an effort to streamline and increase the accuracy and efficiency of Petersburg’s real estate assessment program, the City Assessor has recommended a slate of modifications to select real estate taxation ordinances. Public hearings for these proposed changes are scheduled for September 4, 2018.
These recommendations include:

1. Transition the annual assessment cycle to a biennial cycle (every two years), which will provide a superior sample of sales statistics on which to base reassessment, as well as provide increased predictability for the City’s budget process. This will also give two years for much-needed auditing of the real estate data, as well as time to implement the Patriot AssessPro computer assisted mass appraisal (CAMA) system.

2. Changing the valuation date to January 1 and leaving effective date for billing at July 1, provides the City Manager, Finance Department and Budget Division a finalized land book number on which to formulate the upcoming budget, rather than an estimate for July 1. The “preliminary land book” would be finalized by February 1 with the new January 1 valuation date.

3. Appeal periods will be earlier in the year so that all Office Review and Board of Equalization value changes are made to the land book before July 1 when the land book is finalized. The “Office Review” Period will be February 1 through February 29, and the Board of Review application deadline will be March 31 with hearings in mid-May.

4. Adjust Board of Review member compensation to a $100 per diem basis ($125 for chair) to align with other jurisdictions, require the board to dispose of cases by June 30, and require board members to attend State Department of Taxation board of equalization training annually.

5. Rehabilitation exemption application fees should be adjusted to $100 for residential properties and $200 for commercial and multi-family properties to better capture the administrative costs involved in processing, and exemption credits should become effective on the July 1 following establishment of the exemption credits, to simplify the real estate billing process.

6. Impose a moratorium on exemptions by designation, which are not exemptions guaranteed by the Constitution of Virginia or Virginia Code.