1. County Board of Equalization
Assessment Topics
May 31, 2017
Effective Date
05/31/2017
revenue.nebraska.gov/PAD

2. This guidance document is advisory in nature but is binding on the Nebraska Department of Revenue (Department) until amended. A guidance document does not include internal procedural documents that only affect the internal operations of the Department and does not impose additional requirements or penalties on regulated parties or include confidential information or rules and regulations made in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act. If you believe that this guidance document imposes additional requirements or penalties on regulated parties, you may request a review of the document. This guidance document may change with updated information or added examples. If this guidance document has been provided in print as part of a presentation given by Department staff, it is meant to accompany the verbal presentation. The information contained in this guidance document is accurate as of May 31, Consult the Department’s website at revenue.nebraska.gov to view the most current information and sign up for our free subscription service to get updates on your topics of interest.

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Fall 2011

5. County Assessor’s Duties
Validate Sales
Value Property
All sales are required to be reviewed and validated for use in the state sales file
Sales are reviewed to determine if they are arm’s-length transactions and coded accordingly
Sales are the basis for the sales comparison method of mass appraisal
Directive 16-3 directs county assessors to only use sales that reflect market value to establish the assessed value

6. Create a State Sales File
PTA’s Duty to
Create a State Sales File
Statutes require that a sales file containing all sales be developed by the Property Tax Administrator (PTA)
The sales file is accessible to taxing officials and the sales data is available to property owners
The sales file is used to provide statistical and narrative reports to TERC

7. Create Reports and Opinions (R&O)
The annual reports and opinions are provided to TERC 19 days after county abstracts are due (March 19th or March 25th)
The R&Os contain statistical and narrative reports informing the TERC of the level of value and quality of assessment of the classes and subclasses within a county
A longer or shorter study period may be used to accurately reflect the level of value for a county NAC A(4)
These reports also inform county officials and property owners

8. What’s in the R&O?
The R&O summarizes the county assessor’s valuation changes for the year, including:
Total assessed value change by property type
Date of last inspection by area
Date of last reappraisal
Comparison of agricultural land values to neighboring counties
Statistical information of sales
History charts displaying valuation changes over time
It also describes the PTA’s analysis of assessments and practices, and determines the county “level of value”

9. Understanding “Level of Value”
The level of value is often based on the statistical analysis
However, if insufficient information exists to determine a level of value:
The PTA may assume the level of value is at the statutory level, if assessment practices are acceptable
If assessment practices are not acceptable, and the statistics are unreliable, the PTA may certify “NEI” (not enough information)
The PTA begins a performance improvement plan with counties that have unacceptable practices.

10. Assessment/Sales Ratio Study
Measures of the “central tendency” of assessment
Median, Mean, Weighted Mean
Measures of quality of assessment:
Price Related Differential (PRD)
Coefficient of Dispersion (COD)
PRD measures the assessment level of high dollar properties to low dollar properties
COD measures the uniformity of assessments

11. Check Out Your R&O!
Report for each county is located on the PAD website at revenue.nebraska.gov/PAD/research/state_ equal.html
The website contains current year and prior year R&Os
R&Os are also presented to TERC during statewide equalization as exhibits and can be found at:
terc.nebraska.gov/2017-exhibit-list

12. Statewide Equalization Duties
Other relevant information is used in providing the reports and opinions - including sales of comparable real property in market areas similar to the county or area in question
Nonbinding recommendations are made for consideration by TERC

13. Importance of Equalization
Equalization ensures that all property owners pay their “fair share” of tax, based on assessments that have a similar percentage relationship to market value
Inter-County Equalization: Ensures assessments are acceptable in school districts that overlap county lines
Intra-County Equalization: Ensures classes and subclasses of property within a county are valued at a similar percentage of market value

14. Issues to consider during inter-county equalization
Issues to consider during inter-county equalization. Overlapping School Districts are shown by the various colors on the map.
*Map Source, Nebraska Department of Revenue

15. A/S Ratio Study Example

16. TERC Review During Statewide Equalization
TERC reviews the statistical and narrative reports and opinions of the PTA, asks additional questions, and may seek additional information
TERC certifies the level of value for each county and class of property
TERC may issue Show Cause Orders if level of value appears unacceptable

17. County Show Cause Hearing
The county assessor must “show cause” as to why the class or subclass of property should not be adjusted
Hearings may include testimony from “other interested parties” such as County Board members and taxpayers
TERC will consider all the evidence and certify a final decision by May 15

18. If the County is Ordered to Adjust Value
The county assessor must recertify the abstract by June 5
The county is audited to ensure the order was implemented
The PTA certifies to TERC on or before August 1 that the county assessor implemented the issued order

19. Petition to Adjust By Class or Subclass
By July 26, the county board may petition TERC to make an adjustment by class or subclass
TERC must hear petition and make a decision by August 10

20. Summary
The PTA and staff work directly with county assessors throughout the year to understand assessment practices and provide assistance to the county assessors
The PTA and staff analyze assessed values and report the opinion of the level of value and quality of assessment practices in each county
TERC acts upon the reported opinions during the annual Statewide Equalization process
After Statewide Equalization, the PTA and staff begin to work with counties where assessment practices have been found to be out of compliance

21. Summary of Market From 2016 To 2017 (Excluding Growth)
Agricultural land assessed value decreased 0.15%
Residential assessed value increased 6.50%
Commercial assessed value increased 5.82%
Total real property increased 3.34%

22. 2017 Legislation
The Department typically tracks between 30 and 40 bills which affect the property tax
This year, the Department is tracking 68 bills
No significant property tax bills passed in this session
Governor Ricketts continues to focus on tax relief
Especially interested in the tax burden being carried by agricultural land owners
You can follow the Governor for up-to-date information at governor.nebraska.gov/

23. Questions?

24. Thank You Ruth A. Sorensen Property Tax Administrator
Nebraska Dept. of Revenue, Property Assessment Division
Nebraska State Office Building
301 Centennial Mall South
PO Box 98919
Lincoln, NE
Phone
Fax
revenue.ne.gov/PAD