Personal Property Appraiser

Job Overview 

The primary purpose of this position is to ensure accurate and lawful listing, assessing and
recording tax valuation for all business and individual personal property in McDowell County. The
employee will perform intermediate administrative duties and related work apparent or assigned.​

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​Duties & Responsibilities

• To perform a variety of duties involved in the discovery, administration and appraisal of all personal property within the county tax jurisdiction.

• Provide general office duties and administrative support to the department and ensures that routine activities are completed in a timely manner.

• Provide customer service to all internal and external stakeholders including the front counter and electronic correspondence.

• Perform all projects/tasks assigned to them and ensures that they are all completed correctly and timely.

• Perform quality assurance review of outgoing mailings and billings.

• Ensure that all property owners are mailed the correct listing form per their type of personal property.

• Assist taxpayers in the preparation and completion of personal property listing abstracts.

• Add, send, receive, and list all personal property annually and value personal property according to appraisal standards and guidelines for machinery and equipment, furniture & fixture, computers, mobile homes, aircraft, boats, vehicles, and any other forms of personal property.

• Calculate the market value of personal property using all available sources.

• Calculate the market value of business personal property using the cost, sales or income approach.

• Adds property acquired during current year and removes all deletions.

• Verifies value, situs, and ownership review required listing reports from marinas, mobile home parks, the NC Wildlife Commission, the FAA, NCDMV, etc.

• Performs field audits, checking businesses delinquent in tax listings and following up on defunct businesses which have taxable assets.

• Conducts discovery process, determining unlisted personal property and sending bills, as appropriate.

• Confers with taxpayers, accountants, attorneys, etc., to explain methods of arriving at tax values.

• Maintains taxpayer accounts, creates new accounts for taxpayers, updates mailing addresses, and adds telephone numbers and important identifying information. This may include using existing and/or develop spreadsheets/databases that assist with record-keeping of personal property.

• Maintains confidential files.

• Perform tasks in existing software to utilize schedules that determine the value of personal property.

• Use guides, manuals, and other written material to assist with listing and assessing personal property.

• Correct and abates tax bills and make necessary adjustments to tax bills as appropriate.

• Submitting such records and reports as required by Tax Assessor or County management.

• Assist with other duties as needed or assigned.​

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Qualifications 

Minimum Requirements

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• High School Diploma or GED and moderate experience in accounting or banking, data research analysis and entry with some experience in clerical procedures or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

• Ability to operate a computer, drive a vehicle and to work outside in an uncontrolled environment.

• Ability to maintain effective working relationships with taxpayers and co-workers.

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Preferred Experience

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• Knowledge of current laws, methods and procedures as outlined in the Machinery Act of North Carolina.

• Two years’ experience working in county government or a combination of a related education back ground and experience.

• Must obtain certification by the NC Department of Revenue as a County Personal Property Appraiser within one year of hire date, or if already certified as CPPA, continuing education related to property appraisal 30 hours every two years.

 

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

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• Strong oral and written communication skills to be used in interactions with external and internal customers; ability to prepare oral presentations for managers and staff; ability to compose correspondence, memoranda, reports and other documents; works in an office setting with moderate noise.

• Teamwork – communicating, listening, sharing and hardworking

• Customer Service – Effectively meeting customer needs; building productive customer relationships; taking responsibility for customer satisfaction and loyalty

• Initiating Action – Taking prompt action to accomplish objectives and/or to achieve goals beyond what is required; being proactive

• Stress tolerance – Maintaining stable performance under pressure or opposition; handling stress in a manner that is acceptable to others and to the organization

• Decision Making/Problem Solving – Identifying and understanding issues, problems, and opportunities; comparing data from different sources to draw conclusions, using effective approaches for choosing a course of action or developing appropriate solutions.

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Summary

This position will ensure all personal property located in the county is properly listed on the tax record and assessed fairly and accurately. The employee will work efficiently and collaboratively to support smooth workflow and effective communication across the entire department.

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Benefits 

• Benefited after 30 days

• Medical, dental, and life insurance

• Sick, vacation, and holiday pay

• Membership in the Local Government Retirement System

• Supplemental retirement 401k/457