BENTON COUNTY -- Benton County property owners who are unhappy with their tax bills soon will have the chance to show why they should pay less.
The Assessor's Office has started making appointments for the Board of Equalization that hears appeals from property owners who disagree with assessed values set by the office.
"We sent out 4,780 appraisal notices just recently," Assessor Bear Chaney said Thursday. "Those were for new construction. It could be new houses, swimming pools, fences, storage buildings or anything new that would add to the value of the property. Those went out last Friday."
The Assessor's Office only sent out notices on property where the assessed value increased from last year to this year, Chaney said.
"We didn't send them out if something was torn down," Chaney said. "People don't usually question us if it (the assessed value) goes down."
The Assessor's Office tries to work with property owners who have questions about the assessed value of their property, Chaney said. The property owners can appeal the decision to the Equalization Board if they aren't satisfied.
"We do encourage everyone to call and talk to an assessor," he said. "A lot of times we can answer their questions. If we can't, we'll make an appointment for them with the board."
Information about the Benton County Board of Equalization and the property tax appeals process can be found on the Benton County website at www.bentoncountyar.gov.
The appeals process already has begun, Chaney said.
"We started making appointments for the Equalization Board on Monday," he said. "We've got the first day filled up and half the day on the second day."
The board will begin to meet Aug. 1, said County Clerk Tena O'Brien. The last day to file an appeal with the board is Aug. 18.
The board had 173 appeals that involved 898 parcels of property in 2013, according to County Clerk's Office records.
The board lowered the assessed value of the properties involved by about $8 million after those hearings, O'Brien said. Reducing the assessed value lowers the amount of property tax paid. That will vary according to the location of the property and the property taxes levied by different taxing entities, O'Brien said.
"It affects all of the different entities," she said. "It affects the schools, it affects the cities and it affects the county."
Property owners who remain dissatisfied after a board hearing can appeal the decision to Quorum Court, presided over by County Judge Bob Clinard.
After three years in office, Clinard said he's accustomed to the requirements and procedures of the hearings.
"I'm very comfortable about it," Clinard said. "I have a lot of help. The assessor's staff does a very good job. They have a lot of documentation as to how they arrived at a value. I'm not going to reduce it just because somebody's appealing it. They have to bring in some evidence to show why it should be reduced."
Clinard heard 21 appeals last year, according to County Clerk's Office records. Clinard lowered the value placed on the parcels by the Assessor's Office in 15 of those cases.
General News on 07/23/2014