We spent three days last week, and will spend most of the next two weeks, hearing assessed property value appeals. There is a lot of misunderstanding about this process and how the property tax system works, in general.
As I have mentioned previously, one of the hats we wear is that of members of the Board of Equalization. As such, it is our legal responsibility to hear appeals from home and business owners who believe that the Ada County Assessor’s Office has not correctly estimated the fair market value of their property as of January 1 of this year.
The deadline for appealing for this year has passed, but everyone who filed an appeal by 5 p.m. on June 22 is entitled to a hearing if they feel their concerns are not adequately addressed by a professional property appraiser from the Assessor’s Office. This year, approximately 2500 appeals were received by our office.
Contrary to what some people surmise, we do actually change the value of property in a fair number of these cases. It’s not personal. We do not make our decisions on the basis of whether we like the property owner or the specific appraiser involved in the case. Changing the assessed value of a property is certainly not intended as a personal affront to the individual appraiser, although sometimes it seems to be taken as such. We must have valid reasons for making our determinations and rely on the information presented by both sides, as well as our knowledge of the community and real estate market.
It is not our goal to try to figure out how to justify the original assessed value. It is our goal to determine a correct fair market value as of January 1 of this year. Market value is defined in Idaho Code 63-201 (15) as, “the amount of United States dollars or equivalent for which, in all probability, a property would exchange hands between a willing seller, under no compulsion to sell, and an informed, capable buyer, with a reasonable time allowed to consummate the sale, substantiated by a reasonable down or full cash payment.” The three of us don’t always agree, but none of us takes our differences personally. We always move on to the next appeal.
The parties involved in these appeals, including both applicants and the Assessor’s Office, have the right to appeal our decisions to the Idaho State Board of Tax Appeals, District Court and, ultimately, to the Idaho Supreme Court. It will be interesting to see how many of our decisions are appealed further.