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Fairfield County tax assessor outlines 2025 reassessment, warns most values will rise
Summary
Tax assessor Gary Hensley told the county council that a statutorily required five-year reassessment is under way, that staff are using prior sales (most weight on the most recent three years) and that the state92s 15% cap will limit taxable-value increases for qualifying homeowners.
Good evening. Fairfield County Tax Assessor Gary Hensley told the county council on Feb. 24 that the county is conducting its statutorily required five-year property reassessment for 2025 and that the public should expect most property values to increase.
Hensley said the office is updating cost tables and land values, measuring new construction and using prior sales data to set values. "We look at the prior five years with the most weight on the most recent three years of sales," Hensley said. He described a standard process of identifying outliers, correcting errors, recalculating and then sending data to the state for certification.
The reassessment will trigger mailing of reassessment notices and start a 90-day appeal period for taxpayers who dispute their values. Hensley said the county is aiming to submit its data to the state by June and expects certification to follow quickly; notices would be sent after certification.
Hensley warned that, because local sales activity has strengthened since the last reassessment, "almost everybody's values are going to increase." He also explained a statutory protection: the state92s 15% cap on taxable-value increases. Using the example discussed at the meeting, Hensley said that if a property's market value rose from $100,000 to $250,000, the capped taxable value for that reassessment cycle would be $115,000 for qualifying properties.
Council members asked how the assessor applies neighborhood changes — for example, lakeside neighborhoods — and Hensley said valuations are applied at the neighborhood level ("the entire lake as a whole"), not strictly street by street. He also confirmed that changes such as transfers between unrelated parties or significant new construction remove the cap and trigger reassessment to full market value the following year.
The reassessment process will be followed by property owners' opportunity to appeal individual assessments once notices are mailed; Hensley said the office reviews appeals on a one-on-one basis.
The council did not take formal action on the presentation; the session was informational.
