By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Increased property valuations do not necessarily mean a rise in taxes. That's what Barton County Appraiser Wendy Prosser and the commission emphasized at Wednesday's Barton County Commission meeting. The good news is, for the first time in a couple of years, appraisals were put in the mail by the March 1 deadline. The bad news is appraisals were up significantly all around Barton County. Prosser explained to the commission.
"When they open those notices, in general, we have seen increases between 10 and 30 percent on our residential, if not a little bit more in some instances," she said. "Our ag ground went down in value this year, however, our ag buildings increased in value. There is reasoning behind this. It is all driven by mathematical analysis."
There were 17,892 parcels to be valuated in the county, and the county sent out 10,950 pieces of mail regarding those valuations. Prosser said, county-wide, residential properties increased by 20.2 percent, commercial properties were up 16.9 percent, and the overall county increase was 14.6 percent.
"We analyze properties that have sold in Barton County in the last three years on the open market," Prosser said. "So we're looking at sales that occurred in 2020, 2021, and 2022. Each parcel is then compared to similar properties that have sold. We know that no two properties are the same, therefore, we make adjustments."
Adjustments are made for total living area, the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and the condition and location of the property. In Great Bend, single-story, two-bed, one-bathroom homes in the 600-800 square foot range have seen the sharpest increases, going from $28,000 in 2020 to $89,000 in 2022. Larger homes at 1,500 square feet also saw large increases from $119,600 in 2020 to $236,000 last year.
"We know in our smaller towns we have supply and demand," said Prosser. "So in Hoisington and Ellinwood, where we don't have as many houses, there's not as many that come on the market. So, of course, with that demand, when our houses do, they usually sell for a little bit more."
Prosser then explained how those valuations could impact taxes collected. The state passed a revenue-neutral rate law meaning taxing entities must hold a public hearing if they collect more dollars than the year prior. Those taxing entities include emergency services, cities, townships, schools, and libraries. With higher valuations, that would mean lower mil levies. The county clerk's office will send out a notice later this year indicating which taxing entities plan to collect more dollars and where that public hearing will be. This year, Barton County itself remained revenue neutral.
"In essence, don't throw the county under the bus," said former Barton Commissioner Jon Prescott. "If you see yours did go up a little bit, check and see which one of the taxing entities did increase. That's only fair to the county."
Commission Chair Shawn Hutchinson said, while all property taxes are paid to the county, Barton County only keeps about 25 percent of that total. Barton Community College receives approximately 20 percent, followed by cities, townships, schools, and libraries.
Commissioner Barb Esfeld recently attended a legislative session in Topeka. State lawmakers are discussing cuts in food sales taxes that would mean less state money coming to counties. That would create a deficit and shift the tax burden.
"That just shifted the burden of the money we will lose on food sales tax to property tax," she said. "The House has not voted on it. Please get ahold of your representatives if you want to, if you choose to, if you believe, like me, it's going to put more burden on that."
Property owners have 30 days to appeal their valuation through the appraiser's office. Prosser encouraged anyone with complaints or questions to set up a meeting.
"Basically it's a very informal meeting where you come in, and we'll discuss that value, how we came up with that value, what our numbers are showing," she said. "We're going to start holding those hearings next Monday, March 13. It can be held in our office, or we can also do it via telephone."
Those meetings will be scheduled Monday through Thursday, with Friday being open for fieldwork. As a taxpayer, Zoning Administrator Judy Goreham commended the appraiser's office on the appeal process.
"Not only was it pleasant to go up there and ask questions and be educated, but it was a learning experience for us and for them because they don't know what the inside of our house looks like," she said. "They don't understand all the certain situations around building a new shed or whatever."
Anyone wishing to discuss this year's valuation can call the appraiser's office at (620) 793-1821.