Catawba County’s next property revaluation officially gets moving tonight, when Tax Administrator Brian Myers hands commissioners the rulebook his office will use to put a new value on every parcel in the county.
The Board of Commissioners meets at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 5, on the second floor of the Catawba County Justice Center in Newton. Myers is scheduled to give an overview of the 2027 revaluation and present the proposed Schedule of Values, Standards and Rules, the manual appraisers use to set land and building values. Staff is asking the board to accept the schedule and call a public hearing for Monday, Nov. 2, at 7 p.m.
Why it matters
The new values take effect Jan. 1, 2027, and will become the base for county, city and fire district tax bills going forward. State law requires counties to reappraise at least once every eight years. Catawba has done it every four years since 2007, and the last countywide revaluation took effect Jan. 1, 2023.
The county counts 94,838 parcels this year. About nine in 10 are residential. Of the roughly $25.3 billion in taxable real property on the books for 2026, homes account for 69%, commercial property for 22% and industrial property for 9%. Counting personal property, vehicles and utilities, the county’s total 2026 tax base is about $32.4 billion.
The packet does not include an estimate of how much values will rise or what it could mean for tax rates. Those numbers typically arrive later, once appraisers finish reviewing neighborhoods.
Busier market since the last revaluation
The tax office’s sales slide shows 20,839 property sales from 2023 through mid-September 2026, up from 17,320 in the 2019–2022 window. Appraisers counted 10,669 of the recent sales as qualified, arm’s-length deals, about the same as the 10,351 used last time. Sales tied to foreclosures, family transfers, auctions or special financing are set aside.
What happens next
- Oct. 6: The county publishes notice that the proposed schedule is open for public inspection.
- Nov. 2: Public hearing on the schedule.
- Nov. 16: Commissioners consider adopting it.
- February 2027: New value notices go out, and the appeal period opens.
- April 6, 2027: The Board of Equalization and Review holds its first meeting to hear appeals.
Residents can read the proposed schedule at the Tax Office, 25 Government Drive in Newton, weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., or online on the county website. Questions go to the tax office at 828-465-8200.
Farmland, horticultural land and forestland enrolled in the present-use program will continue to be valued with the state’s present-use schedule. Those owners receive both a market value and a present-use value.
Also on the agenda
- Deputy bonuses: The board will consider appropriating $301,419.20 in state money for one-time $1,750 bonuses to 160 eligible sworn officers, plus the county’s payroll-tax share, under this year’s state budget. No county money is involved, and the bonuses are due to be paid as close to Oct. 15 as practical.
- Regional council rules: Commissioners are asked to ratify the Western Piedmont Council of Governments’ first charter and bylaws update since 2007. Changes include moving from a two-thirds to a simple-majority vote, replacing the treasurer and secretary posts with at-large executive committee seats, and spelling out the council’s long-standing authority to act as a regional housing authority for affordable-housing bond deals. Commissioner Cole Setzer represents the county on the council’s policy board.
- K-9 retirements: Sheriff Don Brown is asking the board to retire drug dogs Odin and Thor and sign them over to their handlers, Deputy Dustin Ladd and Daniel Ikerd. Odin served six years and Thor seven.
- Fire Prevention Week: A proclamation for Oct. 4–10 focuses on safe charging of lithium-ion batteries.
The board’s next regular meeting is Monday, Oct. 19, at 7 p.m.
Source note
As of publication. This story is based on the Catawba County Board of Commissioners’ Oct. 5, 2026, agenda packet, including the Tax Department memo and revaluation presentation, posted on the county’s agendas and minutes page.
