In Suffolk, when the Commissioner of the Revenue's real estate assessment duties are transferred to a city assessor, does the duty to seek court correction of erroneous assessments transfer too?

Plain-English summary

Section 58.1-3984(B) of the Virginia Code makes the Commissioner of the Revenue responsible for going to court to correct an erroneous tax assessment in certain situations. But in Suffolk (as in some other Virginia cities) the City Council had created a separate real estate assessor's office, and a charter provision and city ordinance had transferred "all the duties" formerly held by the Commissioner of the Revenue with respect to real estate assessment to that new office.

The Commissioner asked: did that broad transfer include § 58.1-3984(B)'s duty to seek judicial correction of an erroneous real estate assessment? The AG said yes for real estate. Because the language of both the charter and the ordinance was sweeping ("all the duties now or formerly devolved upon the commissioner of the revenue of the city with respect to the assessment of real estate"), the duty to petition for correction moved with the rest of the real estate work.

The opinion noted that the Commissioner could still have correction duties for personal property assessments, which were not transferred, citing a 2004 opinion involving the City of Hampton.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2010. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

The Suffolk Charter, the Suffolk City Code, and Va. Code § 58.1-3984 have all been amended at various points since 2010. The reasoning of the opinion is fact-specific: it turns on the precise charter and ordinance language that existed in Suffolk in 2010. Anyone analyzing a similar question today should check the current charter and ordinance text for the locality involved.

Common questions

What does § 58.1-3984(B) actually do?
At the time of the opinion, that subsection required the Commissioner of the Revenue to apply to the appropriate court for correction of certain erroneous assessments. It was a mandatory duty, not a discretionary one, triggered in specific situations.

Why didn't the duty simply stay with the Commissioner of the Revenue?
Because the Suffolk Charter authorizes City Council to appoint real estate assessors and "prescribe their duties," and Council exercised that authority by transferring "all the duties" formerly held by the Commissioner regarding real estate assessment to the assessor. Once Council took that step, plain language meant the duty to seek correction came with the rest.

Did the Commissioner of the Revenue lose all responsibilities for assessment errors?
No. The opinion expressly noted that the Commissioner of the Revenue might still have obligations under § 58.1-3984(B) for personal property assessments, citing a 2004 AG opinion that had concluded the Hampton Commissioner had a mandatory duty to initiate judicial correction of erroneous tangible personal property tax assessments.

Does this opinion apply to every city in Virginia?
No. The analysis depends on each locality's specific charter and ordinance language. The opinion's bottom line was tied to the broad transfer language in Suffolk's documents. A city whose charter or ordinance transferred only "valuation" but not the broader "duties" related to assessment might come out differently.

What about the 1998 AG opinion that said the Commissioner of the Revenue has a mandatory duty to file under § 58.1-3984(B)?
The 2010 AG distinguished the 1998 opinion as not addressing the same question or examining the same kind of charter and ordinance language.

Background and statutory framework

In Virginia the term "assessment" of real property has two uses: it can refer to the valuation of property for tax purposes, or to the actual levy of tax on the basis of a previously determined value. Hoffman v. Augusta County, 206 Va. 799 (1966), and St. Andrew's Ass'n v. City of Richmond, 203 Va. 630 (1962), bear on the distinction. The AG used "assessment" in the valuation sense.

Charter § 8.05 made the Commissioner of the Revenue responsible for assessment duties generally, and Charter § 8.06 authorized City Council to create a separate office of real estate assessor and to define that office's duties. The City of Suffolk Code §§ 82-426 and 82-427 created the assessor's office and (per § 82-427) transferred "all the duties now or formerly devolved upon the commissioner of the revenue of the city with respect to the assessment of real estate" to the new office.

The AG's interpretive method was straightforward: when statutes, charters, and ordinances are unambiguous, plain meaning controls. Commonwealth v. Diaz, 266 Va. 260 (2003); Hanover County v. Bertozzi, 256 Va. 350 (1998). The Suffolk transfer language was broad ("all the duties") and unambiguous, so § 58.1-3984(B) duties tied to real estate assessment went to the city assessor.

The 2010 opinion also tied its analysis to a 1977-78 AG opinion that had reached a similar conclusion for Norfolk, which had appointed its own assessor under a 1947 statute.

Citations

• Va. Code Ann. § 58.1-3984(B) (2009)
• Hoffman v. Augusta County, 206 Va. 799, 146 S.E.2d 249 (1966)
• St. Andrew's Ass'n v. City of Richmond, 203 Va. 630, 633-34, 125 S.E.2d 864, 866-67 (1962)
• Commonwealth v. Diaz, 266 Va. 260, 264-65, 585 S.E.2d 552, 554 (2003)
• Williams v. Commonwealth, 265 Va. 268, 271, 576 S.E.2d 468, 470 (2003)
• Mozley v. Prestwould Bd. of Dirs., 264 Va. 549, 554, 570 S.E.2d 817, 820 (2002)
• Hanover County v. Bertozzi, 256 Va. 350, 354, 504 S.E.2d 618, 620 (1998)
• Bd. of Supvrs. of Fauquier County v. Machnick, 242 Va. 452, 456, 410 S.E.2d 607, 609 (1991)
• City of Suffolk Charter §§ 8.05, 8.06
• City of Suffolk Code §§ 82-426, 82-427

Source

• Landing page: https://www.oag.state.va.us/annual-reports-opinions/official-opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.oag.state.va.us/files/Opinions/2010/10-042_Hazelwood.pdf

Original opinion text

COMMONWEALTH of VIRGINIA
Office of the Attorney General
Kenneth T. Cuccinelli, II
Attorney General

December 17, 2010

The Honorable Thomas A. Hazelwood
Commissioner of the Revenue, City of Suffolk
Post Office Box 1459
Suffolk, Virginia 23439

900 East Main Street
Richmond, Virginia 23219
804-786-2071
FAX 804-786-1991
Virginia Relay Services
800-828-1120
7-1-1

Dear Commissioner Hazelwood:

I am responding to your request for an official advisory opinion in accordance with § 2.2-505 of the Code of Virginia.

Issue Presented

You ask whether the devolution of the Commissioner of the Revenue's duties with respect to the assessment of real estate to a city real estate assessor transfers to the assessor the Commissioner's responsibility under § 58.1-3984(B) of the Code of Virginia.

Response

It is my opinion that, in the City of Suffolk, the devolution of the Commissioner of the Revenue's duties with respect to the assessment of real estate to a city real estate assessor transfers to the assessor the Commissioner's responsibility under § 58.1-3984(B) to the extent § 58.1-3984(B) applies to assessments of real property.

Applicable Law and Discussion

The Charter for the City of Suffolk (the "Charter") generally sets forth the duties of the Commissioner of Revenue. These duties include the assessment of property for tax purposes. The Charter further provides, however, for the delegation to a city real estate assessor the function of assessing real property. Specifically, § 8.06 of the Charter states:

[The City Council may] appoint assessors for the valuation of real estate "and prescribe their duties...."

Section 58.1-3984(B) of the Code of Virginia provides that, under certain circumstances, the Commissioner of the Revenue of a locality shall apply to the appropriate court for the correction of an erroneous assessment. You ask whether the assignment of the Commissioner of the Revenue's duties to the city assessor encompasses the responsibilities under § 58.1-3984(B).

"When the language of a statute is unambiguous, we are bound by the plain meaning of that language and may not assign the words a construction that amounts to holding that the General Assembly did not mean what it actually stated." Similarly, when an ordinance is unambiguous, its plain meaning is controlling. To the extent, therefore, that the relevant provisions of the Charter and the City Code are clear, they must be given their plain meaning.

In enacting the Charter, the General Assembly used broad language in the provision authorizing the transfer of assessment duties to the assessor. It provided that the City Council may appoint assessors for the valuation of real estate "and prescribe their duties . . . ." When establishing the assessor's office, the City Council also used broad language with regard to the duties of the assessor. The ordinance creating the office provides that "all the duties now or formerly devolved upon the commissioner of the revenue of the city with respect to the assessment of real estate . . . are transferred to and devolve upon the city real estate assessor." Based on the plain meaning of the clear language of the Charter and the ordinance creating the assessor's office, the duties in § 58.1-3984(B), to the extent they apply to the assessment of real property, have been assigned to the assessor.

This interpretation is consistent with a prior opinion of this Office. A 1977 Opinion addressed whether the Commissioner of the Revenue for the City of Norfolk had "'any responsibility in the assessment of real estate or any responsibility in the case of incorrect assessments.'" Norfolk had appointed an assessor pursuant to Chapter 29 of the Acts of Assembly of 1947. The 1977 Opinion concluded that, in Norfolk's situation, the Commissioner of the Revenue had no responsibility with regard to the valuation of real estate or the correction of inaccurate assessments.

Conclusion

Accordingly, it is my opinion that, in the City of Suffolk, the devolution of the Commissioner of the Revenue's duties with respect to the assessment of real estate to a city real estate assessor transfers to the assessor the Commissioner's responsibility under § 58.1-3984(B) to the extent § 58.1-3984(B) applies to assessments of real property.

With kindest regards, I am

Kenneth T. Cuccinelli, II
Attorney General

The Commissioner of the Revenue may continue to have obligations under § 58.1-3984(B). For example, the duty to petition for corrections of personal property assessments under § 58.1-3984(B) may remain with the Commissioner of the Revenue. See 2004 Op. Va. Att'y Gen. 218, 222 (finding that the Commissioner of the Revenue for the City of Hampton has a duty to initiate a judicial correction pursuant to § 58.1-3984(B) when he determines an assessment for tangible personal property taxes is improper or in obvious error).