From: www.DouglasCountySentinel.com
By Winston Jones
Staff Writer
Posted: Thursday, April 23, 2009 1:09 AM EDT
Nearly 10 percent of Douglas County property owners have filed challenges to their current property value assessments, according to Benny Waldrop, chief appraiser.
“We had about 5,300 property tax returns filed by the April 1 deadline,” Waldrop said. “We have around 53,500 parcels, so this is nearly a tenth of all owners. We typically have only 500-700 returns filed each year.”Record numbers of property owners statewide filed the forms this year because the housing crisis and large number of foreclosures have driven home prices down. Owners are claiming their property values have likewise fallen and their property taxes should be reduced accordingly.
If enough owners are successful in lowering their property values, it could force the county to raise property taxes next year.
“We’ll review each property tax return and an appraiser will go out and look at the property where changes have been made,” Waldrop told the Sentinel.
He said the returns will then be reviewed by the Board of Assessors and assessment notices will be sent out by May 15.
“When you get a notice, you have 45 days to appeal,” he said. “It then goes for another review by the Board of Assessors.”
If the property owner is still not satisfied after the second review, he or she can take the appeal to the Board of Equalization, whose members are appointed by the county grand jury.
Either the property owner or the county can appeal the equalization board’s ruling to the Superior Court system.
