Information about the Assessor

 Assessors are appointed to their position by a Conference Board consisting of the members of the Board of Supervisors, the Mayors of all incorporated cities, and a member from each school district within the jurisdiction. A city with a population of ten thousand or more may elect to have their own assessor.

Assessors are required by statute to pass a state examination and complete a Continuing Education Program consisting of 150 hours of formal classroom instruction with 90 hours tested and a passing grade of 70% attained. The latter requirement must be met in order for the Assessor to be reappointed to the position every six years.

The Deputy Assessor also must pass a state examination as well as successfully complete 90 hours of classroom instruction of which at least 60 hours are tested.

The Conference Board approves the Assessors budget and after a public hearing acts on adoption of it. The Assessor is constrained by statute to a levy limitation for the budget. The limit depends on the value of the jurisdiction.

What are the Assessor’s duties?

 The assessor is charged with several administrative and statutory duties; however, the primary duty and responsibility is to cause to be assessed all real property within his/her jurisdiction except that which is otherwise provided by law. This would include residential, multi-residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural classes of property. Real property is revalued every two years. The effective date of the assessment is January 1st of the current year. The assessor determines a full or partial value of the new construction, or improvements depending upon the state of completion as of January 1st.

Tax Levies and Assessed Values

There are a number of different taxing districts in a jurisdiction, each with a different levy. Each year the County Auditor determines for that district a levy that will yield enough money to pay for schools, police and fire protection, road maintenance and other services budgeted for in that area. The tax levy is applied to each $1,000 of a property’s taxable value. The value determined by the Assessor is the assessed value and is the value indicated on the assessment roll. The taxable value is the value determined by the auditor after application of state ordered “rollback” percentages for the various classes of property and is the value indicated on the tax statement. When comparing the value of your property with other properties, always compare with the value on the assessment roll or the assessors property record cards and not the value indicated on the tax statement.