Going down
Friday, March 2, 2007
Those who own agriculture land could see their valuations go down when notices are mailed, the county appraiser said.
Gary Post, Lyon County appraiser, said values are sent out on an eight-year moving average. Ag use values for grasslands are down an average of 18 percent this year because higher values have dropped off the eight-year moving average.
“That’s just a gross total,” Post said. “For an owner, there may be a 10 percent difference.”
Post said both grasslands and ag land use values are down this year. Native and tame grasses are staying pretty much the same, he said.
Post said the difference is not in the market value. Market value is figured differently. Market value is based on sales that have occurred on similar properties. If similar properties are selling for $1,000 an acre, then market value of other individual’s properties may be close to the same.
Post said the whole purpose of land use value is to protect the farm from a situation of being compared to property close to town, where the land values are going to be different.
“Maybe the value (there) isn’t the same as the ag value because it’s in future development,” Post said.
Post said the lower land use values may mean a lower tax bill for a parcel of land.
“But it may not,” he added. “The tax bill is based on valuation.”
Post said if property owners have a concern over their valuation or tax bills, they can go to the County Appraiser’s Office located in the Lyon County Courthouse.
“It’s so important in my job and the County Appraiser’s Office is to come up with a value that is appropriate,” Post said. “It’s the landowner’s job to follow up.”
Post said another change this year is the way soil types are labeled in the county. To comply with new state guidelines, the county has gone from a two alpha code to four-digit numeric codes. The new numeric codes had to be entered by hand for every parcel of land in Lyon County, Post said.
According to a memo from the state Division of Property Valuation, the implementation of the numerical system will increase the number of soils in the county. Douglas County increased from 46 soil types to 85 soil map units.
Despite the new way of labeling soil types, the value is still the same as the eight-year moving average. Still, Post said landowners should pay attention when their valuations come in the mail.
“We hope the property owners will pay close attention to the valuation and if anything causes them concern, they will call and let us know,” Post said.