NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Thousands of Davidson County home and business owners are frustrated, waiting months or even years for their property tax appeals to be heard. For some property owners like Gary Hoffman, the lengthy process creates significant financial strain.
"It really hits me as a homeowner in my pocketbook," Hoffman said.
The Metro Board of Equalization approves or denies those appeals, and this year they've received a record number. The board consists of five volunteer members with additional alternate members.
Davidson County Property Assessor Vivian Wilhoite explained the challenge of coordinating the volunteer board members' schedules.
"They don't work for metro they are volunteering they have lives they have families," Wilhoite said. "They also have jobs where they have to put food on their table."
The scheduling difficulties mean it can be hard to find times when all board members can meet together to hear property assessment appeals.
Wilhoite suggested potential solutions, including appointing alternate board members or creating a second board of equalization to hear 2026 cases. However, she noted that decision isn't hers to make.
"They are not our board they are the mayor's board," Wilhoite said.
Property owners can appeal their property value to the state level, but that wait could be even longer. State appeals are currently being scheduled into October and November of next year.
The state-level delays stem from a similar staffing issue. Each state appeal requires someone from the Davidson County Assessor's office to argue their case in front of the State Board.
"You can only schedule cases at times where you have the staff from Davidson County to actually go there and argue them," said John Dunn a spokesperson with the SBOE.
The Metro Board of Trustees says property owners in the appeals process can pay the portion of their bill they believe is fair, which can be adjusted once a decision is made. However, the state level operates differently. Once the state board schedules a hearing, property owners must pay the amount of property taxes owed from the previous appraisal.
According to a statement from the mayor's office, the five-member board is currently full, and the mayor has appointed five alternates while seeking additional alternates to supplement the board when it's unable to achieve a quorum.
The board meets frequently, with many meetings consisting of morning and afternoon sessions during the work week. The demanding schedule requires board members to have flexible availability and an understanding of real estate values. The board often meets for all-morning and all-afternoon sessions Monday through Thursday.
The board received a pay increase in this year's budget to help address staffing challenges.
Have questions about your property tax appeal or want to share your experience with the process? Contact Kim at kim.rafferty@NewsChannel5.com and watch the full investigation to learn more about what officials are doing to address these delays.
In this article, we used artificial intelligence to help us convert a video news report originally written by Kim Rafferty. When using this tool, both Kim and the NewsChannel 5 editorial team verified all the facts in the article to make sure it is fair and accurate before we published it. We care about your trust in us and where you get your news, and using this tool allows us to convert our news coverage into different formats so we can quickly reach you where you like to consume information. It also lets our journalists spend more time looking into your story ideas, listening to you and digging into the stories that matter.
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