Government : Assessor responds to candidate's complaints about commercial property appraisal process

Editor's Note: Assessor Larry Andreesen wrote this in response to comments made about the policies of the assessor's office by candidate Richard Primmer. See those HERE. By Larry Andreesen, Benton County Assessor In regards to comments and statements made by Mr. Primmer in his 'Meet the Candidate' profile posted on Vinton Today October 25, 2016: The letter that was sent out to commercial & industrial property owners by the Benton County Assessor's Office requesting income information was sent per a request from Vanguard Appraisals for the revaluation. Our cover letter stated it was asked to be returned, not required. When commercial property owners contacted our office we told them it was a request, and only if part of the property was leased. We have not told any property owners that this is required information. The future need and budgeting for a reappraisal of commercial and industrial properties has been discussed each year at the Benton County Conference Board since January 2008, which was prior to the state of Iowa property tax reform of 2013. The last Benton County commercial revaluation was in 1995. Part of that state of Iowa tax reform was the Business Property Tax Credit. This credit, currently, can be worth $3400 or more per parcel to a taxpayer. The Benton County's Assessor Office has worked diligently by contacting commercial & industrial property owners to achieve a 97% sign up for this credit. We are trying to assure Benton County taxpayers take advantage of this credit. In even years, the sales of commercial and residential properties are used by the Iowa Department of Revenue to equalize values (adjust higher or lower) on all properties in that class in the following odd year. In reference to possibly having a 20% commercial increase, this information was based off of sales and the tentative 2015 commercial order. In the fall of 2015 the Department of Revenue issued an 18% increase for commercial properties based upon sales in 2014. I appealed that order citing 2013 sales and having a reevaluation in 2017. The appeal was accepted and we had a final order of 0%. If I had not appealed that order all commercial properties would have had an 18% increase in the valuations for 2015 by the Department of Revenue. Therefore I was not trying to increase commercial property tax values or taxes. The current sales in 2016 will be used by the reappraisal company to help to determine the 2017 level of assessment. The overall change in value due to the revaluation is not known at this time. A revaluation of residential property has been contracted for the 2021 assessment year. The last revaluation was in 1997. I do not recall making any comment on a revaluation level which would be based on sales data that would occur 4 years from now. The revaluation process is an ongoing process in all counties. Most have a revaluation range between 6 and 20 years. Iowa County, which was referred to, has had commercial revaluations in 2001 and 2015. We review properties for permits, sales, owners request, and by observation. In 2015 new aerial photography was used to compare to the 2009 photography. Properties were flagged for new, removed, and changed buildings. Based on that report, Mr. Primmer's property was flagged for review on August 12, 2016 and recorded in our edit log, prior to his visit to my office. His property was checked on September 20, 2016 for items that had not been assessed. We have reviewed many urban and rural properties based on this report in the last two years for changes. In closing, these are brief responses to address the comments & statements in the Meet the Candidate Profile. If you, as a taxpayer, civic group or business group, have any further questions or would like for me to speak with you, please call the Benton County Assessor's office at 319-472-5211 and I will try to arrange that. Sincerely, Larry Andreesen Benton County Assessor