By MARK MILLER
Homeowners in the Woodlands addition on Bluffton’s north side will likely see some changes in their assessments next year. Some will be happy, others will not.
A decision to reduce the number of “neighborhoods” — a technical term used for assessing residential property for tax purposes — in the growing addition was the main news to emerge from the first of two hearings of the Property Tax Assessment Board of Appeals held Monday morning.
Andrew Smethers, an employee of the Nexus Group that works closely with the Wells County Assessor’s office, explained that the inconsistencies of property assessments the past few years in this area was due to the groupings of the homes into too many small neighborhoods. The term is meant to describe a group of homes that share significant characteristics, including geographic, to be utilized for trending purposes in determining the homes’ values.
The Woodlands area currently consists of “three or four neighborhoods,” Smethers said. Wells County Assessor Laura Roberts believes there will be two for the 2024 assessment year.
The other news to come out the hearing was the presence of Smethers, who Roberts described as an “arbiter or an intermediary,” she said.
His participation was in response to some criticisms the board received in the past year regarding how the hearings were conducted and the role of the assessor with the appeals board.
Smethers reviewed each appeal prior to the hearing, some of which resulted in settlements. In each case Monday, the appealing taxpayer was given five minutes to present their arguments, after which Smethers gave the three-member board his opinion. He would either defend the current assessment or suggest a lower number based on his review. In one case, he admitted that he had planned to recommend a “no change” but after hearing from the taxpayer of extenuating circumstances, told the board he would “not object” if they chose to make the requested change.
In all, 13 appeals were heard with six essentially “winning” by either having Smethers agreeing with them or not objecting to a decision by the board to allow. Four appeals were denied by the board. Three of the appeals resulted in a lowered assessment although not to the degree the taxpayer had requested.
Roberts reported that approximately 20 appeals remain unresolved and will be scheduled for a hearing in November, although the exact date was not set at Monday’s meeting. Several of these taxpayers have ceased responding to her communications, she added. She also suspects a few more will be resolved prior to the next hearing.
miller@news-banner.com
