Several residents used the county’s public comment period July 22 to raise questions about proposed solar farms, property valuations and specific tax protests.
Wilbert (Wilbert) Peterson of Bradshaw said he supports balanced discussion on solar farms but urged the board to consider site suitability. Morris Wires of York said productive land in the county might not be the best location for solar farms because of weather (hail) and lower solar yield than sunnier states, and asked about end-of-life recycling or disposal for solar panels. Both speakers asked the county to consider impacts on agricultural productivity and long-term land use.
Later in the meeting, several members of the public and multiple property owners spoke during the Board of Equalization sessions about steep year-over-year valuation increases and asked for explanations of the assessor’s land-value tables and methodology. Bruce Dickerson and Bill (William) Donovan questioned why residential and agricultural valuations rose so sharply and asked whether replacement-cost methods or updated land studies drove the increases. The board told speakers it would coordinate with the assessor’s office to provide detailed explanations and to review protest filings on the record.
Commissioners did not take policy action on solar farms during the July 22 meeting; property-tax protests were handled during the Board of Equalization session with a mix of assessor recommendations accepted, adjustments ordered for some parcels, and others left unchanged as the board reviewed more than 100 protests across the session.
Speakers urged the board to consider local impacts, provide clearer communication about valuation methodology, and ensure road/ditch maintenance (in one speaker’s case regarding a plugged culvert) is addressed when assessing property values.