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Happy New Year all! I hope everyone had a great Christmas and holiday season.
With the completion of the biannual property reassessment late last year, most everyone should have received their 2024 real estate assessment statements by now. As expected, based in large part due to the performance of the housing market over the past two years, many of us saw increases in our property value. While it can be good to see one’s property increase in value, we’re also impacted with the unfortunate side effect of an associated rise in expenses.
Now that the financial numbers have been officially released, the Board of Supervisors has the data we need to explore how best to address this projected expense increase. I hope to partner with you, my peers on the Board and county staff to seek any viable options to address this assessment’s increase as part of this year’s budget development. While that work is happening, I wanted to share some assessment and budget information you might find helpful.
Property Assessment:
Last year, I asked the Chief County Assessor's office to compose notes explaining the assessment process and they can be found here. This is an introduction to how their office calculates property value, what factors contribute to the assessment amount, legal obligations the office must follow and options on how to appeal their assessments. That link also provides access to other resources from the assessor’s office in the left-hand menu options.
Regarding your ability to appeal your assessment, there is a dedicated resource that outlines the three options available to everyone. That information can be found at this link. To briefly review those options; you can simply contact the assessor’s office to speak with them about their assessment. Many people find success working with a department specialist by asking questions and providing additional details about their property. Following that, everyone also has the ability to appeal to the Board of Equalization so they can consider the assessor’s office findings. Lastly, you can also engage the Circuit Court to consider your case in reviewing your property value assessment.
Budget:
The Fiscal Year 2025 (July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025) budget development process is well underway. As we march steadily forward in developing and eventually adopting this year’s budget, there are several opportunities to get involved. Go to our FY2025 portal to gain details on the budget, see the dates for public input and gain access to the budget question/comment form. As always, I'm also available to take comments or help answer any questions you might have.
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