Subcommittee will look at appraisal system
Posted on Wednesday, August 20, 2008
GRAVETTE - Members of the state Legislative Council voted Friday to create a special subcommittee that will study the state's system for propertytax appraisal.
The study will be done with an eye toward major reform of the system, which is needed, said state Sen. Kim Hendren, R-Gravette.
Some Benton County residents have seen an increase in their assessed property values, Benton County Assessor Bill Moutray said recently. Benton County is on a three-year cycle of reappraisals, as mandated by the state, he said.
As of now, there's lots of confusion about the process through which a person can appeal an appraisal that raises taxes, and Hendren hears from many people about very different appraisals for pieces of property that appear to be comparable, he said.
When some appraisals are made, they effectively leave the property owner no choice but to sell the property, and that's something the property owner, even though getting by, may not want to do, or even have the liquid assets to do, Hendren said.
He has been hearing from constituents who don't understand why the increases are taking place, given that the housing market has declined this year, Hendren said recently.
The subcommittee was created by a unanimous vote of the Legislative Council, Hendren said. The Legislative Council is a group of lawmakers that handles many legislative matters between biennial legislative sessions.
Members of the new subcommittee include representatives of the State Agencies Committee, as well as the Joint (House and Senate ) Revenue and Tax Committee and the Joint Performance Review Committee. Including representatives of the various committees is required because broad reform is needed to fix the state's property-tax-appraisal system, Hendren said.
In his view, amending the state constitution to get a more fair system for property-tax appraisal would be a good idea, he said.
He doesn't want to do away with the funding of schools and cities and counties, all of which get funds through the current system. But he does believe lawmakers have a responsibility to straighten out flaws in a deeply flawed system for reappraisals, Hendren stressed.
With a regular state legislative session set to begin in January 2009, this is a good time for lawmakers to consider what reforms to make, Hendren said.
FEEDBACK:
Something to say about this topic? Submit a Letter to the Editor online
