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Board accepts late farm-use application for Howell property after taxpayer cites confusion over prior escrow
Summary
Ronald and Barbara Howell told the Board of Equalization and Review they believed their farm had remained in farm-use status after paying off their loan; the board accepted an otherwise untimely application after hearing the taxpayer and county explanation.
The Union County Board of Equalization and Review granted relief for a late farm-use application filed by Ronald and Barbara Howell, whose family farm had not been enrolled in the farm-use program after the mortgage escrow ended in 2007.
The board’s action matters because farm-use enrollment reduces taxable value for qualifying farmland; acceptance of the late filing may change the Howell property’s tax treatment for the relevant year if the county’s administrative processes allow retroactive relief.
Ronald Howell told the board he and his family assumed the land remained in farm-use status after their loan was paid off in February 2007 because the mortgage escrow previously handled taxes. “We were under the assumption that once you were in a farm set up that you didn't have to reapply every year,” Howell said. He explained he discovered the lapse only after talking with other farmers about tax bills and realized the farm had not been listed under the program.
County staff explained the statutory application deadline is January 31 (or an agreed extension tied to personal-property changes), and that the Howell application had been submitted after that date — the county recorded the submission as April 1. County staff said they had to deny the application as untimely under normal procedure but brought the case to the board for consideration of equitable relief.
During deliberations the board voted to accept the untimely farm-use application. The clerk indicated the board would follow its normal process for notifying the taxpayer and implementing any change to the assessment or tax bill if applicable.
Howell asked the board for leniency, saying he did not intend to evade rules and that the lapse came from a misunderstanding of the application requirement after escrow ended. The board’s vote to accept the late filing was recorded without a roll-call naming each member’s vote on the transcript; the clerk will issue an official determination and inform the taxpayer.
