Homeowners in Douglas County are furious. Their property values have jumped in 2017, which means paying higher taxes.
SEE RELATED: Some Douglas County homeowners to see property tax increases
The Douglas County Board of Commissioners have a resolution to strongly encourage the County Assessor to cap 2017 property valuations so nobody’s home goes up more than 3%.
Board chair Mary Ann Borgeson said they want to help the tax payers in the county, “Equalization in my opinion does not work, and we are just trying to find short-term right now.”
“Our personal properties went up in value we had one in Benson that we own as a rental and went from about $111,000 to $175,000, so it was a pretty big increase,” said real estate agent Jamie Flanagan.
Some properties have only gone up 5% while others have skyrocketed. One home near 144th and Center in the Harvey Oaks neighborhood had it's value assessed at nearly $4.5 million dollars, up from last years $160,000 assessment.
“I am selling luxury real estate now, $4.5 million dollars,” said Flanahan, she said property tax hikes tied to the increased valuations have been alarming for some buyers.
“I had an email from somebody who is going to hold off on building because they are scared of what their tax bills will be on this new neighborhood.”
The county hopes the 3% proposal will solve some of the initial problems.
“We are finding some that say, ‘You know what that might be right, but I can't in one full swoop take that hit,’" said Borgeson.
Borgeson said the county wants to work with the assessor and even get legislators involved.
“We are saying we have had this system for a long time and it hasn't worked, we run into these problems over and over and over, so maybe there is a different system and let's take a look at that.”
Homeowners should check their assessments on the counties website.
If you think your home was improperly valuated there are some actions you can take: Card
