Ken Joyner - Challenges in Property Tax

The property tax system touches every homeowner and business in America, yet it remains one of the most misunderstood aspects of local government. Ken Joyner, Mecklenburg County's Tax Assessor, offers a perspective shaped by three decades in the trenches, from his unexpected start as a 25-year-old assessor to leading one of North Carolina's largest assessment operations.

His insights reveal a fundamental truth: the best defense against growing anti-property tax sentiment isn't political maneuvering, it's doing the job better.

The Hidden Tax Becomes Visible

For most of Joyner's career, property tax lived quietly in the background of American life. "It was the hidden tax because people... never saw it. They never had to worry about it. It's like withholding," he explains. That invisibility has evaporated as property values have surged and margins have tightened across the economy.

The result? A perfect storm of public frustration and political opportunism. States like Florida are flirting with eliminating property tax entirely, though as Joyner notes, proponents are "kind of like the dog that caught the car", they haven't figured out what comes next. Without property tax, local governments would likely lean harder on sales taxes, creating an even more regressive system.

The answer isn't to abandon the system but to improve it. "I think that we are really utilizing the technology to enhance what we're doing," Joyner says. "That's how we continue with the property taxes. By just doing it better. Being more consistent, being as equitable as possible and educating our customers."

The Equity Challenge: More Than Just Numbers

One of the profession's persistent challenges is vertical equity, ensuring that high-value and low-value properties are assessed fairly relative to their market values. It's a problem that has puzzled budget academics and practitioners alike.

Joyner's approach in Mecklenburg is refreshingly practical: improve vertical equity through education and accessibility. "I don't need to educate those with the means already. They're already taken care of," he observes. Instead, his focus is on the homeowner working at Advanced Auto Parts who can't take time off to appeal their assessment.

The solution? Meeting people where they are. "If they understand that they can take some pictures and upload them from their phone directly to our appeal system... they can do it from their own home. They can do it over their lunch hour," Joyner explains. By lowering barriers to participation, the office helps ensure that all property owners, not just those with resources to hire professionals, can engage with the system.

Teaching the Fundamentals

Despite the complexity of modern mass appraisal, Joyner believes success starts with mastering the basics. When teaching uniformity, a concept that can quickly devolve into statistical jargon, he draws a dartboard. Scattered shots versus a tight grouping around the bullseye instantly conveys what coefficients of dispersion really measure.

"The average person is carrying through life the math that they learned in the first eight years," he notes. So when explaining the principle of substitution, he doesn't cite economic theory. He talks about choosing between chicken, beef, and pork at the grocery store. "Pork's on sale. What are you going to buy?"

This commitment to clarity extends beyond the classroom. Getting into the "bloodstream" of the community, speaking at Rotary clubs, neighborhood associations, and community groups, builds understanding and trust that no amount of technical precision can match.

The Long View of Public Service

What keeps someone in property tax assessment for 32 years? For Joyner, it's about impact that extends far beyond spreadsheets and valuations.

"I may not ever ride on an ambulance and save someone's life, but because of our valuations, the county's able to fund," he reflects. "I may never run into a fire, but because of our work, someone gets trained and is following their professional goals."

This perspective reframes assessment work from bureaucratic necessity to civic foundation. Every fairly assessed property contributes to the schools, roads, and services that make communities function.

Looking Ahead: Modernization with Purpose

North Carolina's property tax enabling legislation, known as the Machinery Act, hasn't seen comprehensive updates since 1973. As technology transforms what's possible in mass appraisal, Joyner sees an opportunity to bring the statutory framework into alignment with modern capabilities and standards.

But modernization isn't about technology for its own sake. It's about building systems that serve all citizens better. Whether that means mobile-friendly appeal processes or clearer communication about how values are determined, the goal remains constant: a fair, understandable system that maintains public trust.

Key Takeaways

• Property tax isn't going away, states considering elimination lack viable alternatives and risk creating more regressive tax structures through over-reliance on sales taxes
• Vertical equity improves through accessibility, making it easier for all property owners to participate in the assessment process naturally reduces disparities
• Communication trumps complexity, explaining assessment concepts in everyday terms builds more trust than technical precision
• Technology serves fairness, modern tools should reduce barriers to participation, not create new ones
• Public service provides lasting impact, fair assessments fund the essential services that make communities thrive

The path forward for property tax assessment isn't revolutionary, it's evolutionary. By focusing on fairness, accessibility, and clear communication, assessors can build systems worthy of public trust. As Joyner's career demonstrates, that work might not be glamorous, but it makes a difference that resonates through entire communities.