Assessor explains how lease agreements can save money for property owners
 

[February 13, 2016]  LINCOLN - When the Logan County Board's Finance Committee met on Tuesday, February 9, 2016, there was discussion on Recording Leases for Homestead Exemptions, a report from the Assessor's Office, and a review of the committee’s Financial Guidelines and Procedures.

Committee members present were Chairman Chuck Ruben, Vice-Chairman Bob Farmer, Andy Anderson, Rick Aylesworth, Gene Rohlfs, and David Hepler. Guests were Denise Martinek, the Logan County Supervisor of Assessments; and Vicki Dugan, Logan County Treasurer.

Recording Leases for Homestead Exemptions

Chairman Chuck Ruben had Denise Martinek tell the committee about Recording Leases for Homestead Exemptions.

Martinek said the Assessor's Office allows a property tax reduction for owners when there is a lease agreement spelled out, taking around $600 off the tax bill.

Martinek said issues have arisen when the Office is not sure there is a renter in a home by January 1, but owners have until April 1 to show a renter in the home. She said other counties require lease agreements to be recorded, with exemptions "coming off" if agreements are not recorded by January 31. Martinek said these records protect the landlords, the renters, and the Assessor's Office.

Ruben asked if there was a list of people who have lease agreements and if there is a fee for the recording.

Martinek said the Assessor's Office has a list of landlords and the ones that have the owner occupied on the rental property. She said people on the list are being notified that they have until January 31, 2017 to get the lease agreements in for recording.

Ruben said a resolution for recording the leases will be needed. He also asked Martinek what the recording fee would be.

Martinek said it is around $45.00 for the recording fee, and having the record will reduce the property taxes by $600.00.

Ruben said the fee would offset the savings, but the fee seems worth it since it reduces the taxes. He motioned that the committee draw up a resolution for next month.

Ruben asked Martinek how many rental agreements there are and whether the landlord does the recording.
Martinek said the number of rental agreements is between 100 and 150, but it all depends if people bring the agreements in. She said it is the landlord who does the recording.

2015 Reassessments

Martinek also said the Assessor's Officers recently completed the reassessments. The Quadrennial Assessment done every four years requires assessors to view properties in detail and assess properties according to market conditions.

Martinek said she got back a tentative township multiplier of one, meaning the state agrees with where the County's assessments are at. She said they are supposed to be at 33.33, but they are at 33.39. Ruben said that is about as close as an assessor can get.

Ruben asked how many parcels there were in Logan County, which he thought was around 16,000.  Martinek said the total is closer to 18,000 and her Office sent out around 15,000 assessment notices.

She said 400 went to the Logan County Board of Review, which reviews complaints by property owners about their assessed property values. Martinek said some have been thrown out and there are about 340 they are looking at more closely. The Assessor's Office tries to work something out before it goes up for review. Martinek and Ruben said some are just errors.

Ruben said when he sat in on one hearing from someone questioning the assessment, the Board of Review was very professional and made some minor adjustments after reassessment. He said if a review goes on to the State, more material will be presented there.

Martinek said there are three new people on the Board of Review and they are very interested in defending the county if something goes to the state Property Tax Appeal Board for Review. The board wants to make sure it has a good defense of the assessment. Martinek said in the past, the county has lost some cases that could have been won if agreements could have been made. She said they are sometimes able to negotiate for lower assessments.

Martinek said she sends out notices about hearings to all taxing bodies, and any taxing body can come in with their own appraiser and witnesses as interveners.

Martinek said there are a few people that have been unhappy when the Assessor's Office sent out the renewals for Senior Citizen Assessment Freezes. The list on the Assessor's website shows that for the value to be frozen at an assessed valuation the year a Senior Citizen qualifies, their income must be under $55,000 and some have never had their income verified. Martinek said they are now asking people to bring in tax returns to prove their income, something many other counties require.

Finance Committee Financial Procedures and Guidelines

Ruben handed out a packet with Finance Committee Financial Procedures and Finance Committee Guidelines. Ruben said he wants the committee to review both documents and consider needed changes. He said he has revised some guidelines because of changes in the ways the board does things. Ruben would like to put the Financial Procedures and Guidelines in one document.

The next Finance Committee meeting will be March 9, 2016 at 5:30 p.m.

[Angela Reiners]