County Assessor Bernice Wright said spikes in property values will be as dramatic as they were after the 1998 reassessment.
"Any property near the water is going to see a jump in property values," she said.
In fact, Wright said some property owners should expect to see their reassessed values to be five times higher than the rate they're been taxed at over the past six years.
Property assessments are used to determine how much a property owner will pay in taxes. While the county sets an across-the-board tax rate, that rate's impact on each property owner is determined by assessed values.
The county will pair the reassessment notices, which will be mailed out starting Aug. 6, with a hotline out of the Assessor's Office and a new Web site focused on reassessment education.
"We're trying to reduce the number of calls coming into the call center," said Frank Guth, Beaufort County's director of management information systems.
The site will include facts on reassessment and the appeals process along with a link residents can use to compare their home's value with a neighbors.
"They'll actually be able to do comparative sales analysis in their neighborhoods," Guth said.
A "reassessmentgram" is already available at the county's Web site, www.bcgov.net, as a way to give residents an easy way to contact the assessor's office with questions.
A 90-day appeal period will follow August's mailing, giving property owners an opportunity to protest their new values. Wright said about 10,000 residents protested the new values they received after the 1998 reassessment.
"We expect the (appeal) numbers to be just as high this year," she said. "Maybe more this time because of the talk about a cap."
County officials delayed Beaufort's state-mandated five-year reassessment in 2003 to consider a 15 percent reassessment cap, but decided against it.
Under the proposal, a home valued at $100,000 in 1998 and worth $200,000 after the 2004 reassessment would be taxed at a value of $115,000.
In June, state legislation was passed that would impose a 20 percent cap on reassessed values. The legislation is waiting on approval from Gov. Mark Sanford.
"The governor is aware of the situation in Beaufort," said spokesman Will Folks.
Supporters have said a cap would limit tax spikes for long-time homeowners while opponents have said it shifts the tax burden from owners of expensive properties to middle- or low-valued properties.
County officials are readying themselves with plans in case the cap is approved, Wright said.
If the governor approves the cap over the next two months, county officials can adjust the actual tax notices before mailing them out in October. But imposing a cap after the tax notices are mailed out means the county would have to reimburse some property owners who over pay.
"We would have to issue refunds, but we couldn't rebill taxpayers that didn't pay enough," Wright said.
Other county's that expect difficulty if the state's 20 percent cap is approved are delaying reassessment for a year to wait out a decision on the proposal, but Beaufort used up that option last year.
"Beaufort County doesn't have any legal avenues left for a delay," Wright said.
Although the notices mailed out next week will include tax values, they will not include a tax bill.
"Our job was getting the appraisals," she said. "We don't want to be beat up over taxes."
