Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Following the equalization of Kimball County properties during the reappraisal process that began late last year, a total of 42 protests were filed with the Board of Equalization. Protests began on Monday, July 10 and continued throughout Thursday, July 13.
In addition to the board, Kimball County Assessor Sherry Winstrom and Josh Gamis, representative of Stanard Appraisal Services, heard the protests.
Stanard Appraisal was the company that assisted with the assessment of hundreds of properties throughout the county.
Throughout the week, there was much discussion about the difference in assessments between the Village of Dix and that of Bushnell. Bushnell was assessed at $.15/sq.ft. while the village of Dix varied from $.02 - .10/sq. ft.
Values in the two villages were adjusted so that assessments are now equalized. Valuations are based on amenities each village has to offer. Though the Village of Dix was assessed at a lower rate, the area had a gas station, school and a cafe at the time of appraisal, while the Village Bushnell had none of these amenities.
The protest allowed landowners the opportunity to discuss opinions of the valuation changes and to get a better understanding of what was recorded and how the numbers added up.
After the conclusion of protests and inspections completed on Thursday, July 13, Winstom’s team and Stanard will review all the information each property owner presented to the board.
Decisions were not made during the hearings due to the amount of material and numbers that needed reviewed, instead, they will be made Monday, July 24 at 8 a.m. in the Commissioners room at the Kimball County Court House.
According to Winstrom once decisions are made if the filing party is still unhappy with the outcome, they have 30 days to file an appeal with the Tax Equalization and Review Commission (TERC).
The number of protests this year decreased by nearly half compared to 2016, with 79 total, the majority of which were filed for valuations on agricultural land.