Issue 5 reported that the revaluation freeze Governor Stein signed shrank from twenty counties to nine through amendments convoluted enough that a floor sponsor could not state the final county count on the record. Commercial owners in North Carolina are consequently operating without the single most basic fact they need: whether their county is running FY27 on frozen values or on 2026 revaluation values. The two produce entirely different appeal postures, different evidentiary standards, and different exposure if the HB 1089 levy-cap amendment passes in November. Publishing the confirmed nine-county list, sourced from the enrolled bill rather than from coverage of it, is a genuine service and the kind of thing no other outlet will do. Plat Street should do it in this issue if the reporting supports it and hold it to Issue 7 if it does not.

Watch: The enrolled SB 889 text and the county list; the HB 1089 result in November; and whether the twelve counties that completed 2026 revaluations see appeal volumes above their historical norm.

Source: North Carolina General Assembly, SB 889 enrolled text; Plat Street Issue 5 MB-F-1