JAN MEES: Takes our
"Assessor Awareness" Test
INSTRUCTIONS: As a current or aspiring
member of the school board, you should know what your biggest payor -- the Boone
County Assessor -- is doing with the real estate he values for property tax
purposes. This exercise is designed to build awareness in that
regard. [Correct answers, if needed, are in brackets].
FIELD ASSIGNMENT
School board president and candidate Jan Mees (above, center, Missourian photo) answered the questions (Q) following
each instruction.
1) Go to Mill Creek Elementary, on the
corner of Nifong and Sinclair. Directly across from the school, also
on Sinclair and Nifong, you will see a large parcel of vacant
land. Do not go onto the property.
Q: Is the land being farmed, in any
way, from what you can see from the two roads?
Mees: I see no evidence of farming.
2) About this parcel, use the following
web addresses to answer the questions. The Map It
function on the first website provides an aerial overview.
Make sure the links aren't broken or cut and paste if they don't work. You can
also click through to the Deed of Trust on the County Recorder's site if that
link won't work.
Q: From the assessor's website, how
large is this parcel, in acres?
Mees: 133 acres
Q: Who owns this land?
Mees: Local residents [E. Stanley and Ann
Kroenke]
Q: From the Deed of Trust, what did the
owners pay for it in 1998?
Mees: $1,915,200.00
Q: What does the Boone County assessor
say the land is worth today (current appraised value)?
Mees: $40,030.00
Q: What did the owners pay in 2009
property taxes on this land?
Mees: $278.00
Q: Knowing this, how do you explain a
levy increase to a taxpayer or a pay cut to a teacher?
Mees: From this exercise, one is led to
conclude that there are inconsistencies, discrepancies, or
inequities in the valuations and taxes assessed on some properties.
But there are state laws and statutes regulating this valuation
process. School Boards do not take part in determining
property value.
CASE STUDIES
Use the County Assessor websites to answer the questions
that follow.
Case #1 -- Crown Center
Farms
Q: What do you know about the owners of
Crown Center Farms?
Mees: I omitted the names of
property owners. [The Wal-Mart heir Laurie family owns Crown
Center Farms].
Q: How large is this
parcel?
Mees: 0.6 acres
Q: What did the owner pay in property
taxes on the parcel in 2009?
Mees: $2.54
Q: Knowing this, how do you explain a
levy increase to a taxpayer or a pay cut to a teacher?
Mees: This assignment has selected only
a few of the thousands of properties within the Columbia Public School
district. I am not sure anyone in Boone County wants a School Board reviewing
everyone’s property valuations and contesting each one suspected of being too
low. This seems a poor way to generate funds, if that is the
purpose.
When a school district and its school board determine a
need for funds, they propose an increase in the tax levy. A
proposed tax levy increase is placed on a ballot for the voters to decide.
That’s how school districts get increased revenues from property
owners.
Case #2 -- Last vacant parcel in
Thornbrook subdivision
Q: Use "Map It" to view an aerial shot
of the parcel. What stands out about the parcel?
Mees: It's in
Thornbrook [There's a paved, concrete cul-de-sac on
it].
Q: The City of Columbia has the parcel
zoned "Residential." How does the County Assessor classify it?
Mees: Not sure how it is
classified – Land in Limits? [County Assessor says it's
Farmland].
Q: How large is the parcel (in acres)?
Mees: 18.2 acres
Q: What did the owners pay in property
taxes on the parcel in 2009?
Mees: $50.06
Q: Knowing this, how do you explain a
levy increase to a taxpayer or a pay cut to a teacher?
Mees: I confess, as a trained school
librarian, I am not intimately knowledgeable about the state
laws and regulations or findings by our state courts that guide the activities
of Missouri’s county assessors. My belief is Boone County’s assessor is
abiding by the laws of our state.
Case #3 -- Million
dollar McMansions
Compare the following three McMANSIONS FOR SALE (1st link)
with their "current appraised" values on the assessor's website (2nd
link).
Q: TRUE or FALSE: In each case,
the assessor's appraised value is at least one million dollars
lower than the asking price, and in one case, the assessor's
appraised value is nearly $3 million lower than the asking
price.
Mees: TRUE. The appraised
valued is less than the asking price in each case. But who knows what the
homes will sell for?
Case #4 -- Last vacant parcel
in Broadway Bluffshttp://www.showmeboone.com/ASSESSOR/RealEstateSummary.Asp?PARCEL=1740200170010001
Q: How large is the parcel in
acres?
Mees: 1.4 acres
Q: This website lists the parcel For
Sale. What are the owners asking for it?
Mees: $1,228,392.00
Q: What is the parcel's "current
appraised" value, according to the County Assessor?
Mees: $182,392.00
Q: What did the owners pay in 2009
property taxes on the parcel?
Mees: $1,320.32
Q: According to the sales listing, what
is the parcel "ideal" for? Who are some of its neighbors?
Mees: Restaurant or commercial use [Neighbors
include all the shops at Broadway Bluffs].
MULTIPLE CHOICE EXTRA CREDIT --
Broadway Bluffs parcel
If the assessor had valued the property at what the owner
says its worth and according to its commercial zoning, about how much property
tax did Columbia Public Schools lose on the Broadway Bluff
parcel in 2009? Use the answer to question #9 on this website to calculate
your guesstimate: http://www.showmeboone.com/assessor/FAQs.asp
1) $1,300
2) $1,000,000
2) $1,000,000
3) $21,000
4) No loss. The property is valued fairly.
Mees: Not sure! [The correct
answer is 3 -- $21,000]
The Columbia Heart Beat would like to thank Jan Mees for
taking the time to take our test. On the facts of record, she passed
with flying colors. Her opinions were well-considered and thoughtful.
Mees: I do appreciate your obvious
concern for Columbia’s schools and the need for adequate
funding.
Not a big surprise.
ReplyDeleteExcellent story!
ReplyDeleteI spent 12+ years working for the Missouri Tax Commission as a field appraiser. The appraisal work was interesting but the political wars led me to leave the job.
ReplyDeleteIf a County Assessor has some influence in Jefferson City, he/she can assess without regard to equity or state laws.
I attempted to bring some reality and fairness to vacant land valuations in Boone County, but found I was just beating my head aginst a wall.
I gave up, because no one seemed to care when school funding and taxes were plentiful.
I am glad to see that perhaps now someone is paying attention.