New valuations of Richmond homes and businesses have yet to be issued.

City Assessor Richie McKeithen told the Free Press the work is done, but he is taking extra time before releasing the results of his staff’s work due to the pandemic.

He said he wants to “make certain” the findings he will issue reflect the real estate market before releasing valuations that will dictate how much property owners will owe City Hall in real estate taxes in 2021. Essentially, he’s trying to determine if the coronavirus pandemic is having any impact on values.

In his view, the flood of money from the federal CARES Act that Congress passed earlier this year might have temporarily supported the market and helped inflate prices.

With Congress stymied in passing a second round of stimulis checks and unemployment numbers still well above average, Mr. McKeithen said he’s concerned there could be a downward movement in prices and a rise in evictions that could alter the picture of a strong market he is seeing. Ordinarily, the new assessments of existing homes and businesses would have been released on or before July 1.

Mr. McKeithen said he tentatively expects to release the new assessments by Sept. 1, but could wait a bit longer depending on economic conditions. However, he also needs to provide time to hear appeals of the new assessments by property owners.

He said he has to deliver the land book to the city Finance Department by Nov. 1 so that office can prepare and issue the first round of real estate tax bills by Jan. 1.

Currently, he is wrapping up assessments of new construction, the final piece needed to complete the assessment process. Meanwhile, City Hall’s financial reports have not shown any sharp decline in collections of taxes, fees and other revenues in the 2020 fiscal year that ended June 30, compared to collections at the same point in fiscal 2019.

City Finance Director John Wack noted that the impact from the virus on city revenues for fiscal 2020 is still uncertain given that City Council has allowed people to delay payment without penalty of their current tax bills on cars and homes until Friday, Aug. 14. It is likely to take until mid-September’s fourth quarter report on fiscal 2020 to get a better understanding, Mr. Wack said.

However, city officials generally believe it more than likely will take until November and the release of the audited Comprehensive Annual Financial Report before a complete picture of the virus’ impact on city revenues in fiscal 2020 will be available.

The city is preparing to take a hit in the 2020-21 fiscal year that began July 1 and, with City Council support, has cut $38.5 million in projected spending to prepare for a virus-fueled downturn.