Orange County’s new tax administrator Crawford Bolton was formally appointed to the role during a Board of Commissioners meeting Thursday night, after starting in the position on Monday. The selection is alongside the county’s efforts to update its property tax assessment process which, in its last two valuation cycles, reflected a disproportionate amount of the county’s tax burden falling onto its Black and long-time homeowners.
Announced in an October 15 release, the Orange County Board of Commissioners selected Bolton to fill the role of tax administrator. The decision follows the retirement of Nancy Freeman, who served as Orange County’s tax administrator for 29 years.
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The former tax administrator for Wilson County, Bolton brings more than 13 years of local government experience, including extensive leadership in property appraisal, tax collection, customer service, and departmental administration. Orange County Vice-Chair Amy Fowler told 97.9 The Hill how the elected officials selected Bolton after a competitive, six-month recruitment process. She said applicants were asked how they would handle a scenario similar to the county’s, including how to engage with the community and ensure the ongoing tax valuation improvement process is transparent.
“We have a lot of changes going on in the tax department,” Fowler said. “We had a work group and hired consultants to help us work on improving the equity in our reevaluations. So we’re happy to have a new administrator along with starting to implement those plans. We’re excited for what’s to be in our tax department over the next couple years.”
Fowler is a member of Orange County’s Tax Assessment Work Group, which launched last year as a step in updating its tax office’s approaches before the next revaluation cycle in 2029. Orange County also hired the consulting firm GAR Associates, LLC in May to perform an independent evaluation of the county’s property reappraisal and tax assessment and share both short-term corrective actions and long-term strategies.
In his application, Bolton shared how he is ready to support a larger, diverse county and bring his knowledge of appraisal, collections, customer service, and organizational development to Orange County. He also emphasized the importance of clear communication, operational efficiency, and staff development in ensuring strong tax administration.
“We did put [Bolton] through his paces,” Fowler said. “And so he’s well aware of what he’s stepping into, but we are not just throwing him to the wolves. We will have this implementation plan to help serve as a guideline of how to make these improvements.”
Ahead of the next assessment cycle, Fowler added how the county is also working to introduce a computer-assisted math appraisal system. The county tax office has historically conducted the subjective process with appraisers, following the state law to determine the market values based on sales ratios and other metrics. But discussions for a more equitable assessment began in 2021 after data showed how a disproportionate amount of the financial burden falls to homeowners in historically Black neighborhoods like Northside and Tin Top, instead of wealthier homeowners.
An example of two Chapel Hill residences in a historically Black neighborhood and the differences between their features and property taxes following the 2025 revaluation. (Photo via the Orange County Property Tax Justice Coalition.)
Rather than changing the methodology, Orange County’s approach in the 2025 revaluation cycle was to strengthen its messaging around the informal and formal appeals process — sending out regular reminders and frequently sharing with residents how and when to contest any new values. However, members of the community-based Orange County Property Tax Justice Coalition criticized how that effort put continued burden on long-term residents in the neighborhoods to submit appeals, instead of the county making systematic-level adjustments.
“It felt important to make sure that we find someone willing and able to hear the community’s concerns and willing to implement the plan that we had already recently agreed on,” Fowler said. “We would also value [Bolton’s] technical expertise and input on that, to say that we’re not making him develop the plan from scratch, we’re helping provide a plan that he can implement and we will also provide support for that.”
Featured photo via the Orange County Government.
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