FEW TAKE PROPERTY VALUES TO BOARD; EQUALIZATION BOARD CONVENES

Cape Girardeau County's Board of Equalization has heard few complaints about property assessments.

Only eight people have appealed to the board to lower their 1997 property assessments.

Four of those cases were heard Monday and another four are on the docket for Thursday at the County Administration Building in Jackson.

The county's three commissioners, the auditor and the assessor serve on the equalization board.

"We didn't have this many last year," said Assessor Jerry Reynolds. "Some counties don't get any."

Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones said some counties are faced with numerous complaints about assessed property values.

St. Francois County's Board of Equalization is faced with hearing nearly 300 appeals, a process that could take nearly a month, Jones said.

Jones said the Cape Girardeau County Assessor's Office has done a good job of explaining to property owners the changes in assessed values.

"I would assume that most folks understand it," he said.

The four cases heard Monday involved property owners on Oak Hill Road in Jackson. The property owners have been locked in a dispute with the city of Jackson over road improvements in their neighborhood.

But Reynolds said the issue isn't one the county board can settle.

This spring, the county went through a major reassessment. It was the first major reassessment since 1985, Reynolds said.

"We had some go up 30 to 35 percent. We had some not go up at all," he said.

Jones said it isn't surprising that property values have climbed in the last dozen years. Jones said the county reassessed his residential property, increasing the assessed value by 30 percent.

Cape Girardeau County has nearly 30,000 parcels of land. Reynolds said the assessed value was increased on more than 18,000 residential and commercial properties.

The state sets the value on agricultural land. Those values didn't change, Reynolds said.

Cape Girardeau County's total assessed valuation has jumped by $67.14 million over a year ago. It currently stands at more than $639 million.

Real estate and personal property values in the city of Cape Girardeau total $338 million, an increase of nearly $35 million over a year ago.

In Jackson, the assessed valuation totals $95.5 million, up $15.3 million over last year, county records show.

Some 600 people contacted the assessor's office after property owners were notified of increases in the assessed value of their real estate earlier this year, Reynolds said.

He said his office has tried to address people's concerns and explain the valuation increase.

The cases that couldn't be worked out end up before the Board of Equalization, Reynolds said.

If real estate values are raised by the board, property owners can appeal to the Board of Appeals in August. The same officials who sit on the Board of Equalization also are on the appeals board.

The Board of Appeals rarely meets. Reynolds said he can't remember the board meeting in his nearly 20 years as assessor.

The Board of Equalization typically doesn't raise the valuations, he said.

Reynolds said the Board of Equalization currently only has cases on the docket for this week. But the officeholders will meet again if other appeals are made, he said.

"There is no set time when it closes," said Reynolds. "We usually keep it open the whole month of July."

Ultimately, property owners can appeal their case to the State Tax Commission or even file suit in circuit court to settle a property assessment matter, Reynolds said.