Residents Demand Tax Relief at Heated Guilford County Reappraisal Meeting

Before Thursday's Guilford County Board of Commissioners meeting had officially opened, resident Mike Perdue was already at the front of the room. When Tax Director Ben Chavis confirmed the county employs 25 appraisers to conduct the 2026 revaluation, Perdue fired back that they were "twenty-five people who don't know what they are doing." The exchange set the temperature for everything that followed in the second-floor meeting room of the Old Guilford County Court House.

The crowd that assembled for the April 3 session included homeowners, renters, and small-business owners describing a common grievance: property values that had doubled, or more, without meaningful improvements to justify the jump. One speaker said a commercial property had been assessed at roughly $290,000 under the previous valuation and now sits at over $1.5 million. Another told commissioners that a damaged swimming pool, long buried and rendered unusable, somehow added tens of thousands of dollars to her home's assessed value this cycle. Speaker after speaker warned that even a partial pass-through of those higher values could push seniors and fixed-income residents out of homes they have owned for decades.

The figure looming over the room is $175 million: the estimated annual revenue increase Guilford County would collect if commissioners leave the current tax rate unchanged after the revaluation. That windfall would flow entirely from higher assessed values, not from any rate hike. Board Chairman Skip Alston has signaled the county will not keep the full amount. "I don't think we need $175 million in order to balance our budget this year," Alston said publicly. But Alston also made clear the board is not pursuing a revenue-neutral rate, the approach that would return total collections to pre-revaluation levels. He acknowledged the county carries significant obligations, including repayment of school bond debt, that argue against the deepest possible cuts.

The stakes look different depending on which option commissioners ultimately choose. A revenue-neutral rate means a home whose value increased at roughly the county average would see little change on its bill. Under the current rate, a home that doubled in assessed value would see its taxes rise proportionally. Commissioner Pat Tillman has said he favors the revenue-neutral path and has said he may have four board votes lined up to pursue it. The tax rate will not be finalized until June 2026, when commissioners set the budget covering the fiscal year beginning July 1.

What commissioners cannot do is override the assessed values themselves. Those figures are set by the Tax Department and correctable only through the formal appeal process. The deadline to file is May 15, 2026 at 5 p.m. Homeowners who believe their valuation is wrong can start the process at guilfordcountync.gov/tax, where an online appeal form is available alongside a comparable-sales tool to benchmark their assessment against recent nearby sales. Completed forms and supporting documentation can be emailed to taxreval@guilfordcountync.gov. For paper forms or direct assistance, the Tax Department is reachable at 336-641-4814 or taxappraisal@guilfordcountync.gov.

Tillman has also said he plans to hold individual town halls for constituents with questions. Between those sessions, the Board of Equalization appeal hearings, and the June budget vote, the next several weeks represent the only window in which Guilford County taxpayers can materially shape the bill they receive next year.