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WINSTON-SALEM —- Forsyth County commissioners will go forward with property revaluation when a majority knocked down a bid by three commissioners Monday night to postpone the process because of the economy.

Over in Rockingham County, people broke out into applause Monday when the board voted unanimously to postpone revaluation until 2011.

In Forsyth County, Commissioner Walter Marshall, supported by commissioners Richard Linville and Debra Conrad, voted in favor of Marshall's motion to postpone revaluation.

A board majority — commissioners Beaufort Bailey, Ted Kaplan, Gloria Whisenhunt and Dave Plyler, the board chairman — voted against Marshall's motion, which failed 4-3.

The vote showed that sentiment on the Forsyth County board was unchanged from last week, when the same four commissioners in a Thursday closed session formed a majority in favor of revaluation going forward. No vote was taken at that time, and Marshall was unable to attend the meeting.

After last night's meeting, Marshall mentioned changes in the housing market as grounds for postponing revaluation.

He also said he felt that the discussion about revaluation should have been held in open session. The notices of new property values are to be mailed out this week or early next week. Forsyth County last conducted revaluation in 2005.

Commissioner Ted Kaplan questioned the legality of trying to stop revaluation. He said it raised the prospect of a

legal challenge that would stop Forsyth County from collecting property tax.

It is too late to go back to the 2005 values, said Davida Martin, the county attorney. Martin said a Jan. 1 deadline to stop the 2009 revaluation had already passed.

On Monday, Rockingham County became the second county in the area to postpone revaluation in the face of bad economic conditions. In January, the Stanly County board had voted to postpone revaluation.

Rockingham County Commissioner Tommy Flynt said that the state of the economy was the overriding reason to postpone revaluation.