In October of 2013, a newly formed Beaufort County Tax Equalization Board of 15 citizens from across the county attended their first meeting facing a backlog of approximately 203 appeals from property owners.
Six months later that backlog has been eliminated with the Tax Equalization Board scheduled to hear their last appeal Wednesday, May 14, 2014.
“I would like to thank Mr. Hughes and his staff for the work and coordination with me and Mrs. McGowan,” said Beaufort County Tax Equalization Board Chairman Bob Cummins. “His staff was a great help to us in working through the new process to set up the conferences and provide the board with the material necessary for us to discharge our duties and responsibilities as directed by Beaufort County Council and South Carolina state statutes. Also of tremendous help was Mr. Josh Gruber, county attorney, and his staff for their legal advice.”
In February of 2013, conferences with Beaufort County taxpayers were suspended due to administrative staffing changes of the prior Board. County officials sought to improve the efficiency of the appeal process and solicited new members to serve on the Tax Equalization Board to increase the total number of Board members from seven to 15.
