Equalization Board Lowers Most Property Values

98 Percent Of Those Contesting Get Decrease, Records Show

Last updated Saturday, August 30, 2008 5:41 PM CDT in News

By Scarlet Sims
The Morning News

The high percentage of properties being devalued doesn't reflect poorly on the county's reappraisals, Moutray said.

The Equalization Board is meeting in a back room at the county Administration Building, dividing itself into three-member subcommittees that holding hearings in make-shift cubicles. Each subcommittee's session are recorded and an appraiser and assessor representative is present.

Thomas Moore of Lowell moved past Booth and into the middle cubicle where he explained why his property should go down from $161,000. His property is not worth that, he said.

"Everybody's property is different," said Leroy Thompson, chairman of one of the subcommittees.

Many county residents are upset about increases in property values, but the values are still less than market value, he said. His own property increased, but he is not contesting it.

"It's still below what I'd sell it for," Thompson said.

The board mostly reviews appraisals that are based on inaccurate information. For example, it hears petitions where a home has too many square feet listed, too many bathrooms or has deteriorated.

Siloam Springs ran a sewer line through Booth's property, which also is in a floodplain and near a lift station, she said. The board should lower the value because there is only one buildable spot on the land, she said.

"It's loud and it smells - I'm sorry, but it does," Booth said.

Some residents come to the board just to ask questions, Chaney said. Others make appointments and then never show up. The board sat through an hour and a half of no-show appointments recently, he said.

Some residents appeal because they believe their homes are simply overpriced.

On Wednesday, county residents appealing property values crammed in a 4-foot wide hall in the administration building, sitting in chairs lined up against the wall, waiting for their names to be called. No one smiled.

"They raise your taxes and the economy is in the dumps right now," Jim Witt said. "That's why we're here - to get it back to where it should be."

Witt said he is upset residents only have about a month to set an appointment after being notified of their home's reappraised value. Telephones at the assessor's office stayed busy for days, he said.

Steven Hill of Bella Vista said his home was appraised higher than new homes nearby. The 1996 home was originally appraised for $111 per square foot but neighboring homes range from $60 to $85 per square foot, Hill said.

"There's no way our house is better than a brand new one," he said.

A county appraiser agreed to lower Hill's home to $94 a square foot, but Hill wasn't satisfied. He paid $350 for an appraisal that shows his home is worth $85 per square foot.

In subdivisions like Hill's, if his property value goes down, similar homes in the area are also supposed to go down, according to state law. That doesn't automatically happen in Benton County, board members said.

Chaney said the law is not well defined, so board members don't know exactly what properties to devalue. The decision to lower property values is made on a case by case basis, said board member Lavelle Sanders.

"No home is exactly like another," Sanders said.

Chaney said the board reviews each petition.

"We are not doing a blanket, across-the-board reduction of everything," he said. "We're trying to do what is correct for taxpayers.

State senators and representatives plan to talk about whether equalization boards statewide must reduce values of similar homes in an area when one property owner wins an appeal. Also, they want to discuss whether the reappraisal process needs changes.

The legislative Revenue and Taxation Committee, the State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee and the Performance Review Committee will meet at 9 a.m. Friday in Room 171 at the state Capitol.

Sen. Terry Smith, D-Hot Springs, said Benton County representatives pushed for a review. Smith is chairman of the Performance Review Committee, which will decide whether to create a subcommittee to review the reappraisal and equalization board processes, he said.

Residents shouldn't expect relief any time soon because the issue will have to be studied and then the subcommittee will recommend changes to the state law or a constitutional amendment, Smith said.

State Rep. Horace Hardwick, R-Bentonville, said Benton County's reappraisals are out of line with what the market is today. A surplus of houses on the market, homes selling for less and rising gas prices add to people's frustration, he said.

"It just has gotten in people's minds, and they get their appraisal and say 'Hey, my house is not worth that right now," Hardwick said.

An appraisal may not reflect current values, because it's based on past appraisals, Smith said. Benton County's 2008 reappraisal uses data from 2005, 2006 and 2007, when Benton County was in a building boom, Moutray said previously.

The reappraisal didn't use 2008 figures, but if a property owner contests the value and brings 2008 data, the board will consider it, Chaney said.

Lots near Booth's land sell for around $23,000, the county appraiser said. The board approved that value for Booth's property and moved on to her three other parcels. One they decide not to change, the other two they lowered.

Overall, the board lowered Booth's collective property value nearly $40,000.

The board is fair, but the county should reevaluate property countywide, Booth said after her hearing. Property is difficult to sell right now, she said.

"If something is worth $100,000 and you can't sell it for $75,000 then paying higher taxes isn't fair," Booth said.

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