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The numbers will be high. That’s something Charlotte County residents are being warned to expect, when the reassessment notices go out next week. On Wednesday, March 26, a bit after this paper gets delivered, there will be a presentation to the board of supervisors on exactly how high those numbers are expected to go. But even without knowing the exact figure, county staff has cautioned that it’s going to sting. 

“(We’ve got) some significant increases, I think there’s going to be some sticker shock for our county residents,” Charlotte County Administrator Dan Witt told a joint meeting of supervisors and school board members on Tuesday, March 18. 

Witt pointed out that it’s been five years since the last reassessment and property values have changed. So the presentation to the board is March 26, then those notices, informing residents of their property’s newly assessed value, will be sent on April 1.  

These notices have been significantly delayed, in comparison with all the counties surrounding Charlotte. That’s due to a mistake made by the firm handling the reassessment. The contract Charlotte County signed with the firm said the reassessment was to be finished by Dec. 31, 2024. That was to give the board more time to look at equalization, what that tax rate would look like, if there are any additional funds for schools, rescue squad or the sheriff’s office.

Instead, someone at the firm misunderstood the due date. Instead of Dec. 31, they believed the reassessment wasn’t due until May, so the work hadn’t been finished. In fact, the work wasn’t completed until Saturday, March 15. That’s why the notices haven’t gone out yet. It’s also why the tax rate for the coming fiscal year hasn’t been set. It’s hard to put together even some tax rate options without the reassessment data. 

Workshops, hearings continue 

So now county staff have had the reassessment data less than two weeks. The supervisors will hear the reassessment values this week, getting an understanding of what the tax rate needs to be to balance out and what it needs to be to address the needs and requests. As we mention elsewhere on this front page, the school district has already presented their requests, including an ask for help in handling an increase in the health insurance rate for employees. 

So when will the budget be presented and a public hearing set? That’ll be sometime in May now, due to the delays. Then when you factor in everything required, it’s likely Charlotte County won’t be able to adopt a budget until June. 

Beyond reassessment, a solar question

And as we’ve highlighted earlier this month, there’s one more issue to deal with. There’s still the question of what funding, if any, the county will get from solar projects. As we reported last week, it’s not a guarantee that three of Dominion’s solar projects have to be pushed back. There’s a chance they could still go active on schedule. That matters because of the payment schedules. Charlotte County gets revenue on a steady basis once they go active and start generating electricity. Some, including the one expected to start construction in April, are scheduled to pay a one-time fee once they reach certain milestones like this one. 

Originally, these projects had been set to connect to an existing 115 kv line. However, after a recent study was done, it was discovered that 115 kv line wouldn’t be able to handle all of the planned projects in Charlotte County expected to flow into it, from County Line Solar to Tall Pines Solar to Courthouse Solar. 

As a result, the regional transmission authority ordered that all projects within that timeframe be pushed back. However, so many other projects were removed from consideration completely, no longer planning on using that line, now it appears there will be enough space for those Dominion operations. The only frustration is that we won’t know for certain until this fall, as the transmission authority officials have said they’re not testing it until then.