Special meeting set for July 27 will include public hearing on revised budget driven by SB 474

By Miles Layton

EDENTON — Chowan County property owners are facing a likely tax rate increase after a new state law removed an exemption that had shielded the county from a mandatory property reappraisal moratorium.

The Board adopted its original FY 2026-27 budget on June 30, setting a tax rate of 57.25 cents based on the county’s 2026 schedule of property values. That budget lasted only days.

On July 1, the General Assembly passed Senate Bill 474. Gov. Josh Stein signed it into law on July 8. The bill places Chowan County into the Property Tax Reappraisal Moratorium established under Senate Bill 889 — a moratorium the county previously was exempt from based on its population. The law is scheduled to take effect on July 13.

Because of that change, the county is now required to base its budget on the 2022 schedule of property values rather than the 2026 values, and to set a tax rate sufficient to balance the budget under that older valuation.

Officials are also cautioning residents against a common misreading of the numbers: The shift from a 57.25-cent rate to a 72-cent rate is not a 14.75-cent tax increase, since the change is paired with a return to lower, 2022-era property values. The two figures come from different valuation schedules and aren’t directly comparable.

The Chowan County Board of Commissioners wants to hold a special meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, July 27, at the Chowan County Public Safety Center, where officials will have a public hearing on an amendment to the county’s newly adopted 2026-27 budget. The hearing is required under N.C. General Statute 159-15, because the budget the Board approved just weeks ago no longer complies with state law.

County officials have been reviewing a proposed budget that funds services under both valuation schedules to gauge the impact.

Using the 2022 property values now mandated by law, the tax rate needed to maintain current services would be 72 cents — a 2.5-cent increase over the county’s 2025 rate of 69.5 cents.

By contrast, under the 2026 values the county had originally planned to use, the rate needed to maintain services would have been 57.25 cents. County officials noted that figure would not actually have been a tax cut, since it would have applied to higher property values than the 2022 schedule.

The July 27 hearing will give residents a chance to weigh in on the amended budget before the Board finalizes it. The proposed amendment is available for public inspection at the Chowan County Manager’s Office, 305 W. Freemason St., Edenton, and on the county’s website, www.chowancounty-nc.gov. Monday’s meeting will also include a vote by the Board to formally schedule the public hearing.

Speaking of the county commission, there will be a meeting at 6 p.m. July 13, where commissioners will take up several items:

• Grant pre-application: Cooperative Extension staff will ask the Board to approve a pre-application for a $2,500 grant from the Albemarle Community Trust to buy supplies for the county’s existing “Together We Grow” program. No matching funds would be required.
• TDA Board resolution: Commissioners will consider an amendment clarifying that the Tourism Development Authority Board’s longstanding policy is not to compensate members for attending meetings, though budgeted funds are used to provide meals at the board’s regular noon meetings.
• Tax items: Tax Administrator Chris Hill will present the annual settlement of current-year taxes, along with orders to collect 2026 taxes and taxes remaining unpaid from prior years.
• NCACC conference: The Board will consider covering hotel and registration costs for Chairman Bob Kirby, who serves on the N.C. Association of County Commissioners board, and for Commissioner Ellis Lawrence, both of whom plan to attend the NCACC Annual Conference set for Aug. 20-22. The Board is also expected to name Kirby as the county’s voting delegate and Lawrence as the alternate.
• Board appointments: Commissioners are expected to appoint Josanna Berkow to the Shepard Pruden Memorial Library Board of Trustees and reappoint Commissioner Tony Shaffer to another term on that board. The Board will also consider reappointing Craig Miller to the ABC Board, reappointing Alex Kehayes to the DSS Board, and nominating a commissioner to serve on the Albemarle District Jail Commission, which Chowan County is set to join under pending legislation.

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