(Spirit Lake)– What’s fair for one group of property owners should be fair for another. That was the message representatives of the Dickinson County Taxpayers Association had Tuesday for the County Conference Board.
Phil Petersen, President of the Taxpayer’s Association, expressed the group’s concern over six blanket reductions in property valuations made by the Board of Review. None of those included lakeshore residential properties, leaving them subject to higher property taxes. Petersen questioned the legality and fairness of that. He said the association has opted not to seek legal action for now.
While members of the Conference Board commiserated with Petersen, they said there’s nothing they can do to override the Board of Review, which is overseen by the Iowa Department of Revenue. It was pointed out the only authority the Conference Board has, in addition to setting the County Assessor’s budget, is to appoint members to the Board of Review when there’s a vacancy.
Conference Board members were receptive to a recommendation by the Taxpayers Association to appoint a lakeshore property owner the next time a vacancy comes up on the five-member Board of Review.
Dickinson County Assessor Pat Dodds added she plans to do a total revaluation of properties in 2009
One resident in the crowd, Dick Ramsey of Orleans, told the crowd the ultimate responsibility of holding the line on property taxes lies with local governments. He urged everyone to make their voices heard as area cities, the county and school boards begin their annual budgeting processes over the next several weeks.
In other business, the Conference Board voted to approve the Assessor’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year. It reflects a seven percent increase in salaries, but that’s subject to change based on recommendations to be made at an upcoming meeting of the county’s Compensation Board. A public hearing on the Assessor’s proposed budget was set for Noon January 29th at the courthouse.
