July 03, 2008 09:36 pm
—
By Susan Redden
sredden@joplinglobe.com
CARTHAGE, Mo. — It’s not a reassessment year, but nearly 50 property owners already have signed up to protest their property appraisals before the Jasper County Board of Equalization.
The large number is unusual for this year because the only property owners notified of changes in their property valuations are those with new construction. Some protests have come from people still unhappy with property values set in countywide reassessment in 2007, said Lisa Perry, administrative assistant to Don Davis, county assessor.
Perry said workers in the assessor’s office initially conducted informal hearings on 461 properties.
“We finished the informal process June 20 and mailed out the responses,” she said. “Those who want to appeal after seeing our decisions will have until July 14 to register with the board.”
So far, 49 hearings have been scheduled before the board, composed of members of the Jasper County Commission. The sessions start July 17.
Perry said some appeals have come from property owners who are questioning higher valuations on new construction, while the office also was contacted by people unhappy with property values from last year. She said the office also is hearing from people who want their property values changed to reflect the downturn in the housing market since the last countywide appraisal.
“We’ve had people come in with new appraisals on property they’ve had for a while that show their property values have dropped,” she said. “But reassessment is based on the value of the property on Jan. 1, 2007, and the next reassessment will be based on values on Jan. 1, 2009.”
Last year, more than 800 property owners protested their appraisals in Board of Equalization hearings. More than 200 paid their taxes under protest, appealing their valuations either with the State Tax Commission or in the courts, according to Steve Holt, county collector.
Senate Bill 711
Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt this week signed Senate Bill 711, designed to ensure that residents are informed of any tax or assessment increase as soon as possible so they have more time to learn the tax consequences and appeal if they choose.
The new law also closes what some observers have described as a legal loophole in Missouri’s tax system that has let some local governments reap financial windfalls when property values rise. It will mandate tax-rate reductions when assessed property values rise significantly — even if levies already are below their maximum limit.
Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.