Guest Column | Taxpayers receive notice of property values from county

Here we are again, the time of the year where all Mohave County property owners have received your Notice of Value (NOV) or what I refer to as my “Love Letter”, since you received it addressed from me in February.

I would think most of you would not refer to it as harboring any actual “love” but just so you know the Assessor’s Office puts a lot of hard work and diligence to getting over 262,999 parcels valued, inputted, vetted and ready to be passed on to the county treasurer.

Now that you have your NOV and you have recovered from any shock associated with the values you see, let me dive in with a deep look at what it really means.

On your Notice of Value (NOV) there are two years of values; 2023 and 2024 .

There are two types of values – Full Cash Value (FCV) and Limited Property Value (LPV).

The FCV is synonymous to the market value in your area. The 2024 FCV is the value you are welcome to appeal. This number will reflect the current market, which we have all seen an increase in value significantly due to many economic factors.

The 2023 LPV values will be reflected in your next tax bill set to arrive in September. You are taxed on your LPV Assessed Value.

Your Assessed value is your Limited Property Value multiplied by the Assessment Ratio which is listed below your values on your NOV.

Your Assessment Ratio depends on whether your improvement is used as residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, historic, etc.

Most Limited Property Values (LPV’s) are statutorily regulated to increase up to 5% each year (without improvements) until your LPV value reaches your FCV. If the property has been changed in a substantial way the LPV can change by more than 5%.

Now that you are most likely significantly confused let me explain to you a little bit about the appeals process.

One of the reasons it takes two years for our values to turn into your tax bill is due to the appeals process. This process – the right for you as a property owner and taxpayer, allows you three different opportunities to appeal.

These opportunities take work and have statutory deadlines.

Opportunity No. 1 – Follow the Appeal Information instructions on the back of your NOV.

You have 60 days from the NOV notice date to file an appeal. This year has an appeal deadline of April 4, 2023.

In the appeal you must state the method or methods of valuation (market or cost) on which you are basing your appeal and provide substantial information justifying your opinion of value.

Every appeal is worked with our appraisers, their supervisors and then eventually to me directly. The process focuses on site appraisals, market evaluations and depreciation factors to name a few. Once our appraisers value your property, they submit to their supervisor for review and then send to me. I review every appeal. This process can take a couple months.

Opportunity No. 2 – If you do not like our answer to your appeal, within 25 days of our decision being mailed, you can appeal to the County Board of Equalization. All Board of Equalization appeals will be heard in a hearing at the Mohave County Board of Supervisors Board Room and officiated by a State of Equalization hearing officer. These appeals must be ruled on no later than October 15.

Opportunity No. 3 – If you still do not like the answer to your appeal or possibly other reasons you were not able to start the first appeal opportunity, you can appeal in tax court located next to our capitol in Phoenix, Arizona.

This appeal must be filed within 60 days of the most recent appeals decision. You have until Dec. 15 of the valuation year to appeal at Tax Court.

Once these appeals are finished and ruled on, all of the values are included in the following year’s tax roll. The Assessor’s Office passes this tax roll to the treasurer every August for the next tax round of tax bills to be mailed in September.

My final note: I am quite proud of the Assessor’s Office staff and all their hard work, diligently valuing all 262,999 parcels and improvements throughout Mohave County.

The assessing process might take a long time, but accuracy and fairness is our goal. I am happy to state that our appeal applications have decreased every year since I took office. This tells me our staff does a fantastic job assessing your property and our taxpayers are satisfied with their values.

(Jeanne Kentch is the Mohave County Assessor.)