Why Property Valuations Increased And How They Will Impact The Tax Levy

By Gordon HopkinsIn June, Nebraskans began receiving property valuations in the mail. That began ongoing conversations, among both government officials and their constituents, about how those valuations would impact taxes.Jefferson County Commissioner Mark Schoenrock addressed the matter at a meeting of the commissioners on Tuesday, June 24, 2024. He indicated that it is too soon to say just how those valuations will impact taxes overall. Regarding the tax levy, Schoenrock said, “That’s a misconception of a lot of people. They got those increased valuation notices in the mail and they think, ‘Oh, my taxes are going up 30 percent or 40 percent.’ That’s not even close to. We don’t know what that figure is until we have the budget developed.” Of the budget, Schoenrock said, “That’s our revenue requirement here. So, then we get the valuation from the assessor here. You have to apply a levy against that valuation to give you the revenue that you need to pay for your budget. So, that’s the process. And I think most people don’t understand that fully. I think that’s probably where the disconnect is.”The commissioners have said that they want to hear from the public on the budget. Schoenrock said, “Our budget hearings are open. We want public input on our budget. What do you want to pay for law enforcement? What do you want to pay for road maintenance? What do you want to pay for ambulance service? What do you want to pay for all the services that we have here in the courthouse? All of those take revenue, obviously, to pay for all those services to our citizens. That’s our job is trying to balance that, you know, to continue to provide first class service to our citizens. But in order to do that, it takes an amount of revenue to do that.” Valuations and Market ValueThat Tuesday was also the first day of hearings for property valuation protests. County assessor Mary Banahan advised commissioners there were already 95 protests filed, with more expected.According to Governor Jim Pillen, property valuations went up an average of 10 percent around the state, although many individuals are seeing increases substantially higher than that.Property valuations are set in accordance with state statutes and based on market value. Banahan said, “We sent our numbers in. The Department of Revenue looked at them and we’re within compliance.”County Commissioner Mark Scoenrock said, “When I’m getting questions from constituents, Mary, I just said, Hey, the assessor has to do this based on market value. The market has increased substantially.”Banahan confirmed that, here in Jefferson County, “Houses are selling really well. And an adjustment was required to be made to residential properties.”Commissioner Gale Pohlmann noted, “Out of the 18 homes that are priced for sale, 14 are priced over the assessed value.” Those prices cannot be used for determining market value. Only properties that sold are used for that purpose. Banahan said, “It’s not anything you can use for basis of decisions, or for us setting valuations, but it’s an interesting thing to point out to people.”Banahan noted, “We raised the valuation on this one house. The valuation, the assessed valuation, is still less than what the people paid for it. And they’re filing a protest.”

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