Residents challenge Benton County FY26 levy notice and seek clearer accounting of tax increases

BENTON COUNTY — At a public hearing on the proposed fiscal year 2026 budget, county staff summarized how state rules on assessed values, rollbacks and levy limits interact to produce the tax numbers in the county’s mailed notice, while residents pressed supervisors for clearer accounting of recent large increases in assessments and tax bills.

County staffer Carrie told the Board of Supervisors that Benton County is “working in three different value years” when preparing the FY26 budget and explained that the state applies rollback factors to assessed values to produce taxable values. She said the county was required to reduce levy rates this year because growth exceeded the state’s threshold, noting the board reduced both the general basic and general supplemental levies to comply with the limit.

The dispute over the mailed levy notice, which residents said cost about $12,000, dominated the roughly 90‑minute hearing. Several attendees said that the example numbers in the mailer were confusing or misleading. One business owner described a steep jump in his tax bill, saying, “My…