BERMUDA RUN – It’s property revaluation time. Residents for nearly 25,000 parcels can expect to receive notices in the mail by the end of January.

Brian Myers, tax administrator for Davie County, gave a presentation to the Bermuda Run Town Council, telling the board that property values in the county slipped .39 percent since the last revaluation in 2013.

Property values were up .71 percent in Bermuda Run and .36 percent in Mocksville but were down 2.8 percent in Cooleemee.

“A lot of individuals believe the county does property revaluations to increase revenue for the county,” Myers said. “That is not the case. The main purpose of the revaluation is to establish equity among your tax base. Property values can change in positive way or negative way or stay the same for a short period of time.”

Myers said that state law requires each county to do a revaluation at least every eight years, but Davie changed to every four years in 2004.

“That’s a good things for the citizens,” he said. “If there is a drastic change, there’s no sticker shock at the end of eight years.”

Myers noted that in the last revaluation in 2013, there was a large number of foreclosures, which can affect the market.

“Those number of sales have decreased since then, and that is good amongst the tax base,” he said.

In Bermuda Run, there have been 26 vacant qualified sales and 376 improved qualified (structure on the property) sales since the previous revaluation.

Myers said that property owners have the right to appeal the upcoming appraised value with valid reasons including market value substantially exceeding the actual market value of the property, market value being inconsistent with the market value of similar type properties in the same neighborhood and property information on the tax record being incorrect.

Myers was also asked about commercial property and said it can be “tricky to try to value” because of a number of factors. He provided the new Sheetz as an example that many figure to be great for the local tax base, “but it’s a land lease and not a purchase.”

The Davie Medical Center, with a campus of 30 acres yet to be developed under the auspices of Wake Forest Baptist Health, is not taxable.

“The whole parcel is tax exempt at this point with the current state of the property,” Myers said. “If a physician’s office goes in, it would be taxable. There are things out there that could be taxable if they are built. It depends on how they are set up. I take exemptions very seriously because that’s taking money away from the tax base.”

Town Manager Lee Rollins wanted to make sure the council was aware of this point.

“When we look at the development of that campus, certainly we are grateful for the investment Wake Forest Baptist has had on health care and quality of life, but I look at tax revenues, and there is no guarantee there,” he said. “There is no way to quantify how that could develop out at this point.”

In other business, it was announced that councilwoman Shirley Cagle had resigned her position on the board, effective Jan. 13, because of her relocation to Clemmons.

“You sold your house too soon,” councilman Ken Bateman said.

Council members praised her contributions and the kind of person she is.

“Several years ago I called Shirley and encouraged her to run,” councilman Ed Coley said. “She has filled it wonderfully. She is a great public servant and a great person.”

Attorney Brian Williams has served this board for quite a few years and added that Cagle was “top notch, a wonderful lady, a wonderful servant, and as other council members have noted, a better person. Bermuda Run has been blessed to have you.”

Cagle’s term expires in November 2017. Rollins said that the council has two options to replace her – have a meeting and make motions to appoint somebody or go through a nomination process.

“I suggested to the council at the next meeting to decide how to proceed before starting taking about candidates,” Rollins said. “They would only need to appoint someone for a short period of time. My assumption is that they will appoint someone.”