Duties of the
Assessor:
The Assessor is charged with several administrative and statutory duties. The
primary duty and responsibility is to assess all real property within the
Assessor's jurisdiction except that which is otherwise provided by law. This
would include residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural classes of
property. Real property is revalued every two years. The
effective date of the assessment is January first of each year. The Assessor
determines a full or partial value for all new construction and improvements
depending upon their state of completion as of that January first date
The Assessor is concerned with value, not taxes. Taxing jurisdictions such as
schools, cities and county, adopt budgets after public hearings. This determines
the tax levy, which is the rate of taxation required to raise the money
budgeted. The taxes you pay are proportional to the value of your
property compared to the total value of property in your taxing district.
The Assessor DOES NOT:
 Collect
taxes
Calculate
taxes
Determine
tax rate
Set policy
for the Board of Review
About the Assessor:
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Assessors are appointed to their position by a Conference Board consisting of
the members of the Board of Supervisors, the Mayors of all the incorporated
cities, and a member of each school district within the jurisdiction. A city
with a population of 10,000 or more may elect to have their own assessor. |
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In cities having an assessor the conference board shall consist
of the members of the city council, school board and county board of
supervisors. |
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Assessors are required by law 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. |
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The Conference Board approves
the Assessor's budget and after a public hearing acts on adoption of the same. |
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The Assessor is limited, by statute, depending upon the value of the
jurisdiction, to a levy limitation for the budget. |
Click here
to read about Market Value, Tax Levies and Assessed Values |
