The two month process of hearing property valuation appeals at the Fremont County Assessor's Office and by the Fremont County Commissioners concluded Monday with the final protest hearing before the County Board of Equalization. Assessor Stacey Seifert said the 2007 reassessment year protest was not as heavy as they had anticipated.
Seifert began preparations for the 2007 reassessment shortly after being elected last November. Notices of valuation were mailed to owners of real property in early June. She said that although some taxpayers were shocked by the increases in their property values, the majority understood why it had happened. Seifert said it was apparent that both residential and commercial values had not kept pace with the market for the past five years. The final count for formal protests filed at the Assessor's Office was 1,644, however she says there were probably two to three hundred other property owners who stopped in simply for an explanation and chose not to protest once they understood how the process works and what the numbers mean.
Less than ten percent of property owners appealed the Assessor's decision to the Commissioners who conducted hearings as the Board of Equalization (B.O.E). Commission Chairman Ed Norden said the board conducted 108 B.O.E. hearings on 149 parcels of property from July 2nd through August 6th. Property owners introduced evidence and made arguments for why they believed their property values were overstated. In the final analysis the board made adjustments in values for 94 properties and denied protest petitions from another 55. Norden said property owners who did their research and came prepared to support their arguments were in the best position to get a reduction in value. Norden added that in some cases the assessor uncovered errors and had reached a settlement with property owners before the hearings even started.
Seifert says she believes the process was fair and she doesn't anticipate more than a handful will appeal their values to the State Board of Assessment Appeals. Seifert added "Overall, my staff and I feel that the protest period went very smoothly and that the advance publicity concerning the workload facing the office and our situation went a long way toward preparing property owners for the values indicated on their valuation notices".
Seifert began preparations for the 2007 reassessment shortly after being elected last November. Notices of valuation were mailed to owners of real property in early June. She said that although some taxpayers were shocked by the increases in their property values, the majority understood why it had happened. Seifert said it was apparent that both residential and commercial values had not kept pace with the market for the past five years. The final count for formal protests filed at the Assessor's Office was 1,644, however she says there were probably two to three hundred other property owners who stopped in simply for an explanation and chose not to protest once they understood how the process works and what the numbers mean.
Less than ten percent of property owners appealed the Assessor's decision to the Commissioners who conducted hearings as the Board of Equalization (B.O.E). Commission Chairman Ed Norden said the board conducted 108 B.O.E. hearings on 149 parcels of property from July 2nd through August 6th. Property owners introduced evidence and made arguments for why they believed their property values were overstated. In the final analysis the board made adjustments in values for 94 properties and denied protest petitions from another 55. Norden said property owners who did their research and came prepared to support their arguments were in the best position to get a reduction in value. Norden added that in some cases the assessor uncovered errors and had reached a settlement with property owners before the hearings even started.
Seifert says she believes the process was fair and she doesn't anticipate more than a handful will appeal their values to the State Board of Assessment Appeals. Seifert added "Overall, my staff and I feel that the protest period went very smoothly and that the advance publicity concerning the workload facing the office and our situation went a long way toward preparing property owners for the values indicated on their valuation notices".