[Durham INC] Fw: Norfolk Southern / Durham tax bill / INC meeting

[Scott Carter]

Hello INC folks,

Please see the string of  notes below as follow up to the questions about
tax value and taxes paid by Norfolk Southern as part of the discussion of
the Duke Beltline at our INC meeting this week.
Thanks to Reynolds Smith for providing this additional information.

Scott Carter
INC President
----- Forwarded by Scott Carter/Raleigh/IBM on 10/24/2013 01:01 PM -----

From:	Reynolds Smith <Reynoldssmith at mindspring.com>
To:	Scott Carter/Raleigh/IBM at IBMUS,
Cc:	Ellen Reckhow <EReckhow at gmail.com>, John A Goebel
            <john.a.goebel at gmail.com>, Jeffrey Bakalchuck
            <JBakalchuck at measinc.com>
Date:	10/23/2013 10:45 AM
Subject:	Norfolk Southern / Durham tax bill / INC meeting



Hi Scott,

Thanks for the opportunity to talk to your group last night. They asked me
an important question about the railroad's tax bill in Durham, and I said
it was difficult to give a specific answer as it applies to the beltline
property. The message forwarded below explains why this is, and I would be
grateful if you could share it with your group. Apparently the railroad's
property--at least this is my understanding--falls into three separate
districts in Durham. I'm not sure if the beltline property falls into one
of these districts, or is spread between all three. It would be great if we
knew the answer to this. It might also be useful to know how many miles of
track these assessments represented, so that a per-mile-of track figure
could be obtained.

I really appreciated the very helpful and determined feedback the INC
offered. Thanks again!

All the best,
Reynolds

Begin forwarded message:

      From: Ellen Reckhow <ereckhow at gmail.com>
      Date: September 11, 2013 9:43:21 PM EDT

      Subject: Re: Railroad wants $7.1 million for Durham Beltline

      This is the response from our Tax Administrator.

      Ellen;

      Under NC General Statutes, property that is owned by a Public Service
      Company and is also referred to public utility are assessed by the
      State.  The NC Department of Revenue places a value as a whole on all
      the property owned by such company.  Therefore, I do not have a value
      on a specific area in Durham but rather a district value.  Based on
      the value provided by the state taxes are paid by the public service
      companies.  Currently I do not have a certification from the state on
      2013 values as such has not been released by the state as of this
      date.


      Values and taxes paid in 2012 within the City of Durham only is as
      follows:

      Value                   Taxes
      1,297,590       17,023.08 pd
      1,065,140       13,973.57 pd
      4,552,775         59,727.86 pd

      Kimberly H. Simpson | Tax Administrator





      Ellen Reckhow
      Durham County Board of Commissioners
      11 Pine Top Place
      Durham, NC 27705
      (919) 383-3883
      (919) 383-3833 (FAX)
      www.dconc.gov
      www.ellenreckhow.org


      On Wed, Sep 11, 2013 at 11:07 AM, Jeffrey Bakalchuck <
      jbakalchuck at measinc.com> wrote:
        I know that tax issues involving railroads is way out of my field
        of expertise, but a few thoughts:

        Don't railroads pay property taxes on their land? Does N/S pay any
        in Durham?

        What is the assessed value of the property for tax purposes? Maybe
        that should be raised to the 7.1 million figure. It would be
        difficult for N/S to dispute that value as they are claiming that
        is what it is worth. Then tax them on that figure.

        I checked Durham GoMaps for 332 Fuller St, which is the beltline
        section from Fernway to Corporation and it shows a land market
        value of $3,109. It's land use description is "VACANT PUBLIC
        UTILITY". Is N/S really a Public Utility in NC? The NC Utilities
        Commission doesn't regulate them so how are they classified as a
        utility?

        Could the land be re-classified as vacant commercial?   The tax
        bill on 7.1 million of vacant commercial land should be around
        100k/year.

        Jeff Bakalchuck
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