LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Be aware of recently reassessed land values

Our county assessor has reappraised some property values this year, as required by the state. If you have small acreage located around Norfork and Bull Shoals Lakes, you probably got the notice of the increases. However, if you own large-acreage land (about 10 or more acres) around the lakes, you may not have received a notice of the increase. To check on your property, go to the assessor’s office and ask for a copy of your property card (a public record). If a 2018 date is on the upper right side, your new assessed value will be at the bottom of the column. This amount is divided by 100 then multiplied by the total amount of the tax levy amount (in 2017, it was 3.2593 for those in the Gainesville R-V District) to give you the amount you pay in taxes. If your appraised amounts go up, your taxes go up.
Increase notices give you a chance to go before the Board of Equalization in July with complaints about increase amounts. If you don’t receive a notice, you pay the increases in December and you cannot go to the Board of Equalization until July of the next year (you must apply in June). If the board agrees to lower your appraised amount, it’s too late to change it for the year of the increase. 
This year we got a notice of increase for 1.4 acres but not for our 11 acres by the lake. We didn’t know the appraised value of our 11 acres went up until we asked for a copy of our property card from the assessor. Also, last year, we did not get a notice when the appraised value of our water well went up. Why not? Did anyone get a notice? Did the assessor’s office outsource this work? The assessor is responsible for sending out these notices.
Folks, ask questions, do research online, get answers and then double-check them. No more surprises!

June Rowlett
Howards Ridge
 
Editor’s note: To verify what your 2018 taxes will be, request a property card at the assessor’s office and take it to the collector’s office (both offices are in the basement of the Ozark County Courthouse). Ask Collector Bill Hambelton or Deputy Collector Darla Sullivan to calculate your upcoming tax bill.