~by Janice Harbaugh for GreeneCountyNewsOnline
Greene County assessor Adam Smith reported to the board of supervisors at their regular meeting on April 12 concerning recent assessment notices sent to county property owners. Smith later told GCNO his report was at the request of the board.
Smith said location of property, improvements to the property, and sales figures are important in determining property value. Assessed value is market value, or an estimate of the price that it would sell for on the open market on Jan. 1 of the year of assessment, according to the assessor’s website.
Smith told the board rural properties (assessed values) went up the most “because they are selling well.”
“The northeast corner of Jefferson went down due to sales figures,” Smith said. “We don’t have staff to go to every home (to make assessments of value), so we use sales figures.”
Smith said many factors go into an assessment of property value and his office uses many sources of information such as construction permits to assess improvements to a property.
“New construction and improvements add value,” Smith said. “People are re-financing.“
Smith spoke of situations, also, where a “nice house is in a bad neighborhood” and that affects the assessment.
Smith described a map of eight areas in Jefferson his office uses in helping to assess market values of property. In a later interview with GCNO, Smith said the map is used as a guide but is not an official government document. Smith said he would share it with GCNO for publication if he can locate it.
“It’s not based so much on neighborhood,” he said. “There aren’t neat borders.”
In addressing the board of supervisors, Smith said a “reappraisal project on rural properties” is needed. “Carroll County raised rural property values 33 percent.”
He added that some rural properties are selling for twice the assessed value, and that even with the recent increases, the assessments are still low.
Smith explained the difference between property classified as Agricultural and property defined as Rural Residential. “In general, 10 acres and under is considered Rural Residential.”
In a later interview with GCNO, Smith expanded on the differences.
“There have been odd decisions by the courts on Agricultural property vs Rural Residential property. It has to do with whether the property is used to produce a living.”
Smith used animal confinement operations, which are usually located on approximately 5 acres, as an example of making a living agriculturally on less than ten acres.
Smith told GCNO the Iowa Department of Revenue and the Iowa State Association of Assessors is considering “putting together a working group to more clearly understand what is considered Agricultural property.”
Smith said, “Assessors do not assess their own property or that of their parents. The Iowa Department of Revenue is responsible for that. This is a new law since last year.”
Information about the responsibilities and procedures of the county assessor are posted on the Greene County Iowa Assessors website and pamphlets are available in the assessor’s office.
