New Castle County Council voted down a resolution that would have required the county auditor to take a harder look at this year's reassessed property tax values.
The resolution was proposed by three members of council - David Tackett, Dee Durham and Brandon Toole. They wanted the county auditor to review the assessment, which was done by national public software service company Tyler Technologies. Tyler Technologies has done more than 30 million appraisals nationwide, and said in their final report for the county that their results fell within "accepted industry standards."
The resolution was discussed twice on Aug. 25, at the County Finance Committee meeting and the overall County Council meeting. There was a strong crowd in attendance to witness the proceedings, which included hours of riled-up public comment from residents - some of whom came with data, who did not trust Tyler Technologies or the county.
The vote ended up being 6 yes and 7 no votes.
Residents of New Castle County in particular are feeling the heat of new property tax values after the first assessment in more than 30 years. A shift in tax burden from commercial properties to residential properties has resulted in higher tax bills for many residents.
The issue caused deep divides in the council. The three sponsors are calling for additional transparency, but some dissenters on the council said any kind of audit wouldn't affect tax bills and wouldn't change residents' attitudes unless the auditor found something egregious.
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Sponsors and supporters of the resolution think this is good government. They think the resolution helps county residents have a little more trust in the process.
"It might even serve to give our constituents some reassurance that Tyler's processes were not flawed," said Council member Dee Durham, who represents Brandywine Hundred, at the finance committee meeting. "No one here is accusing Tyler (Technologies) of fraud or malfeasance."
Opponents called it "political theater" and said the three council members went into business for themselves. Middletown representative and Council member David Carter said the resolution distracts from further solutions for taxpayers. Another point dissenters made was that the resolution has led to misinformation among their constituents.
Carter said the county auditor is already looking at the data and the resolution isn't necessary.
"Political theater in real world is often criticized as empty posturing, a staged show, designed for appearance rather than substance," Council member Valerie George, representing the Newark area, said in the finance committee meeting. "And I think that is what we're doing today."
Tyler Technologies, in a statement to The News Journal/Delaware Online, stood by its assessment and said post-assessment audits against them are rare and have never produced any material results.
"Tyler has been conducting appraisal services since its inception and has assessed over 34 million parcels across the country," it said in an emailed statement on Aug. 26. "We stand fully behind the quality of our work and our track record demonstrates our commitment to maintaining the highest professional standards."
The resolution would have compelled the county auditor do a review of the entire assessment process. The deadline was Oct. 24, to produce a report and recommend further action:
The county will start hearing appeals in the coming weeks and some notices have been sent out. It said it will be a challenge to get through all 5,200 formal appeals.
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A majority vote from council does compel the auditor to take a review of anything, according to state law. The auditor, Robert Wasserbach, received rave reviews for his work and transparency from all council members at the finance committee meeting.
Wilmington City Council member Christian Willauer introduced a city resolution in support of the county one, but she said she was unsure whether it can stay on the agenda for the city council's Aug. 27 meeting. She even appeared for public comment at the county meeting, calling for a deep dive into the data.
"There are many accurate values, but many commercial properties have been under-assessed," she said in her public comment.
Carter said the city of Wilmington has not helped the county throughout the assessment process. He and other council members threw some combative comments against the city government.
"They need to get their own policies squared away," he said at the county council meeting.
"In three to four years, city of Wilmington, get that checkbook out," County Councilmember Kevin Caneco said soon after.
At the assessment-themed special legislative session earlier this month, the state Senate passed a resolution calling for an "immediate review" of the statewide assessment through state, school district, county and municipality collaboration. The review is supposed to set up clearer and improved policies for the next assessment and won't affect the last one. It has no deadline.
Shane Brennan covers Wilmington and other Delaware issues. Reach out with ideas, tips or feedback at [email protected].