As property values go up, appeals surge
And it also means the Utah Legislature's Revenue and Taxation Interim Committee has scheduled a public hearing Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. to discuss the impact property taxes had on Utah residents this year.
As of 5 p.m. Monday, the deadline for property value appeals, landowners in Utah's three largest counties had filed 11,426 appeals — 4,047 more than they did in 2006.
That number is small compared to the total number of properties in each county, but the number of appeals is expected to rise this week as mailed appeals trickle in. But they must have been postmarked by Monday at 5 p.m.
The number of requests for tax appeal hearings more than doubled in Utah County this year.
Requests started pouring in over the phone at 8 a.m. Monday, until a clerk in the auditor's office shut down the system at 5 p.m. By that time, the number of hearing requests had skyrocketed to 3,026. Last year's count was 1,062.
In Davis County, appeal requests came in spurts, said Jonathan Lee, chief deputy in the clerk/auditor's office.
Larry Wilcox, who lives in Bountiful, was the last person to file in Farmington in person on Monday.
He said his property value increased 47 percent over last year's assessment, and he doesn't believe the market value placed on his 17-year-old home is accurate.
Wilcox, who still works and has paid off his home, said he doesn't believe the tax burden on himself is as bad as for people who are retired and live on fixed incomes.
"Something should be done," he said. "(The tax rate) ought to be adjusted down the road. Cap it at some point."
That way, he said, once someone's income is fixed, his expenses are fixed, as well.
It was easy to find similar stories and hear pleas to government officials to improve the methodology for collecting property taxes.
On average, Davis County's residential property values increased 19.5 percent, but Bountiful saw the highest increase in values in the county: 30.5 percent.
Even Davis County Assessor Jim Ivie, a Bountiful resident, appealed his value.
Appeals are a way to ensure the county has the most accurate information, Ivie said.
Salt Lake County's property values are the highest that Salt Lake County Assessor Lee Gardner has ever seen, with an average increase of 22.3 percent over past year.
But the rising property values didn't follow that same trend when it comes to appeals, said Liz Fehrmann, Salt Lake County assistant tax administrator. Approximately 6,500 property owners appealed their appraisal value this year. The county received more than 7,600 appeals in 2001, Fehrmann said.
Recent comments
Dear Jackhp. I wonder if you sleep nights, or if you stay awake and...
Do you sleep? | Sept. 20, 2007 at 9:40 p.m.
it's a conspiracy man! the governments got a grip on the market...
Anonymous | Sept. 18, 2007 at 11:35 p.m.
PEACE AND LOVE BABIE!
peace | Sept. 18, 2007 at 11:27 p.m.
