JAMES WOOD
Staff Writer
The Bedford County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to authorize the 5-year property reappraisal cycle during their Feb. 10 meeting.
This will allow the Property Assessor’s office to formally authorize the process of the reappraisal across the county and will reveal new data regarding real estate market trends in Bedford County as all the data taken from the last year since the preliminary stages of the reappraisal started.
Outgoing Property Assessor Ronda Clanton spoke on what residents of Bedford County should know before the reappraisal takes place and property values are revised.
“Tennessee is a market driven state,” Clanton said. “We’re looking at what the market is doing.”
As a state-mandated process, counties across Tennessee are required to adopt mass property reappraisals on 4-, 5-, or 6-year cycles.
Since the appraisal in 2016, the market in Bedford County has shown a trend of exponential property value growth, according to Clanton. However, between the last year and now, market trends have indicated a slight slowing of pace in property values.
While value is still increasing, the rate at which it has been growing will not be as drastic as it was in the years following 2020, allegedly.
Clanton’s last day in office will be at the end of the last week in February, in which the office will be headed by Paige Beech, the Chief Deputy of the office until the Board of Commissioners appoint an Interim Assessor to fill the vacancy left from Clanton.
Once the office is filled again, the new Property Assessor will be chosen in the August elections, with Drew Reed and Emily Hodges being the current contenders for the seat. By the time a new Property Assessor has been elected, the reappraisal process is planned to be complete.
One of the important things that Clanton noted for the public to know throughout the reappraisal is the nature of the program and how it relates to home prices and other property values.
“We will have new numbers for 2026,” Clanton said. “And those values are going to be sticker shock for people.”
Due to the many property values being based on numbers from 2021, the visible change will be substantial. However, Clanton stated that the change will not increase property taxes if the property has not been changed or upgraded since 2021.
“The reappraisal is a money neutral program,” Clanton said. “With the new high values that we’ll have in the market values, the state recalculates to a certified rate that will bring no more money in than it did the previous year with the low values and the higher tax rate.”
“It’s a weighted scale.” she added.
For more information, the Property Assessor’s office is available for questions regarding the revaluing process and how that will impact the future of Bedford County.