Barton County Appraiser Barb Esfeld had good news for the County Commission Monday morning. 

For the first time in six years, all property valuations were mailed to property owners by the mandated March 1 deadline. “The was no extension needed.”

A new computer system had caused delays, forcing the county to seek permission from the state to give some extra time. “But, we’ve worked through that.”

Now, she said, owners have 30 days to appeal the tax values. These would be informal meetings with Appraiser’s Office staff in the office to ask questions and file an appeal.

Values are based as closely as possible to the market value of the property, Esfeld said. And, these two are fairly well aligned in Barton County.

Esfeld said her office is required by state law to reappraise properties annually. However, every six years her staff has to reinspect properties.

The next deadline is for personal property renditions. They are due by March 15.

By law, all tangible personal property subject to taxation must be listed and assessed as of Jan. 1 of each year in the name of the owner. Individuals, companies and corporations that own or have tangible personal property subject to their control on Jan. 1, must file a personal property rendition with the County Appraiser’s Office on or before the deadline to avoid a penalty.

Included must be such items as golf carts, boats, jet skis and trailers.

After that, oil and gas property renditions are due by April 1.

A rendition is simply a form that provides the appraisal district with the description, location, cost and acquisition dates for personal property that one owns. The appraisal district uses the information to help estimate the market value of your property for taxation purposes.

Good news and trends

In a boost to the valuations, Esfeld said per-barrel price of oil has gone up from $27 last year to $43. “That’s good news for the county.”

She doesn’t know how much this will bring in, but said every little bit helps. 

There are other bright spots.

Commercial properties are holding their value and even increasing. They are often selling for more than the appraised for and are continuing to sell.

Residential properties have seen several years of value increases. Although the growth was a little lower than recently, they are up 3 percent this year.

Overall, farm ground was up 9.1 percent. Dryland increased by 6.8, irrigated land by 11.1 and grassland 4 percent. 

However, Esfeld said is a generalization. Values can vary from farm to farm based on soil types and yield histories.

As for agricultural land, Esfeld said values are not set at the local level. The state sets those based on an eight-year rolling average.

But, there is a two-year lag time. This means land values this year are from 2007 through 2015.

These are also based on yields, not fair-market value. So, a good year or two in those eight can skew the figures.

Another highlight was the total number of real estate transactions in the county. There were over 800 last year, which is right in line with the average.

“When I see this, I am pleased,” Esfeld said.

Barton County is growing in line with other counties. “But, ours isn’t as visible,” she said.

“Barton County is not doing as badly as we might think,” she said.