Lynch Pen : Property assessment is confusing biz
Posted on Wednesday, October 8, 2008
It took a bit longer than my previous article anticipated, but the $ 700 billion bailout of the financial marketplace or Wall Street (take your pick ) has passed through Congress and been signed by President Bush. Now we can speculate about whether it is going to be the answer to our nation's (and, to some extent, the world's ) economic problems or just another way to make the rich richer. Warren Buffett was on PBS the other night and said we needed the bailout "under the circumstances," but it was "a result of failure over the years, not a new problem."
Several sources have just reported on the problem of lost jobs this year - 760, 000 through September. There were a reported 159, 000 jobs lost in September alone, more than twice the loss in August. These numbers are frightening, leading us up to a 6. 1 percent national unemployment rate. This is not a good time to be seeking a job.
And, here in Benton County it has been reported that Gates Corporation in Siloam Springs will be laying off 50 workers - hopefully only temporarily - and Mercy Medical Center will lay off 61 employees including 41 full-time people. In addition, Kennametal is planning to permanently close their Bentonville manufacturing plant, affecting 150 employees. This is not the best of times for northwest Arkansas as we have witnessed bank closures and regularly read about home builders taking bankruptcy. To add to our problems in Benton County, we have probably seen the largest increase in real estate taxes - as a percentage of home values - ever. It is difficult for me to understand, when I discuss the increases with home owners, how so many people can accept their property assessment (reappraisal ) without understanding it. Many people seem not to understand how to calculate their percent of increase or understand that a 30 percent assessment increase means their tax bill can go up 10 percent for each of the next three years.
Because my farm assessment has increased on both land and improvements by a total of 25. 8 percent, I began to question how all this process takes place and felt there were certain factors concerning the house at the farm that they would not know. Surely if they understood, then they would recognize what looked like errors on the appraisal to me. This action, and reaction, has lead me to believe that as citizens of the State of Arkansas and residents of Benton County, we need a lot more information than just accepting a sheet of paper that tells you what the new appraisal amounts to, and since we might not live in the same school district, it doesn't give you even an estimated new tax.
What I have discovered in trying to understand the procedure, and determine why there is so much "apparent"difference in some of the categories, has led me to believe I owe it to you, if you have the interest in reading this, to tell you what I am learning. Please understand, this has not been a straightforward process and I am still learning at this point. It is time consuming to question your assessment and / or appeal it to the Equalization Board. I can only estimate the time at this point at over 16 hours after having met with the Equalization Board. There have been three (3 ) trips to the County Administration Building in Bentonville and four (4 ) trips to get photographs developed. It would be impossible to estimate the time on the telephone asking questions, etc. Luckily, I am retired.
The really good news is everyone has been extremely helpful and courteous in the Assessor's Office and patient and courteous at the Equalization Board appeal. Everyone in the office seemed to understand that being new on their computers I might need to be told more than once how to find something. And, they seemed to empathize with those of us who were trying to find out what was available in the way of information. They might be as frustrated as those of us appealing our assessment.
Because the questioning process is time consuming and easily misunderstood, I'm sure most people just accept any increase and complain to their neighbors. Since this increase seemed extreme, to say the least, I chose to at least learn how they compile the figures. If you are not aware, there is something called a Property Card, a paper sheet, 8 x 11-inches that you can obtain on your property, or one on each of your properties if you have more than one. Some people have told me you can request them to send you one, or you can do as I did and go by the Assessor's Office and pick up a copy. (One trip to Bentonville for me ). You need your "parcel number"from your assessment, reappraisal notice and they print it off for you. If you have never seen yours, it will probably create as many questions in your mind as mine did for me. At first glance it looks overwhelming, but time does reveal some answers.
Luckily, questioning is the start of the understanding process and it is not straightforward. You can start with when is a "Location Factor"not related to where your house sits on the lot ? If this is of interest to you, please follow in the next few weeks and I'll try to explain to you by way of this column, what I learn.
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