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Atchison County approves change-of-value mailing; appraiser warns exemptions and rising valuations could squeeze budgets
Summary
The county approved a $5,460.06 purchase order for printing and postage of 2025 change-of-value notices. County Appraiser Holly Hackathorn told commissioners valuations are rising in parts of the county, Board of Tax Appeals delays are producing retroactive exemptions and she will provide quarterly reports on pending exemptions and change orders.
Atchison County commissioners on Jan. 28 approved a $5,460.06 purchase order for printing, envelopes and postage to distribute the 2025 change-of-value (CVN) real estate notices.
County Appraiser Holly Hackathorn told the commission she solicited three bids and selected CoffeeCo of Celina because it offered the lowest total price; the mailing will be about 9,431 notices (a rough estimate, she said). The board voted to pay the vendor from the office supplies and printing line item; the motion passed 3 to 0.
In a broader departmental update, Hackathorn said countywide market activity means valuations are still increasing, with some areas seeing single-digit increases and others showing higher gains. She said her office begins analysis for the next tax year in July and that land sales and residential and commercial depreciation all factor into valuations.
Hackathorn also discussed a recurring pressure on county revenues: late-filed exemption requests and Board of Tax Appeals (BOTA) decisions. She said the state BOTA is currently backlogged and can grant exemptions retroactive to the year the property owner applied — in some cases reaching back multiple years — which can require the county to issue refunds. Hackathorn cited a recent example where an appraisal fell from about $8,000,000 to $1,700,000 and required refunds tied to a protest and payment adjustments.
To give commissioners better visibility, she said she will run quarterly queries and provide a regular report listing pending exemptions and change orders (including disaster relief, land-bank exemptions, and refunds resulting from protests). Commissioners asked for a breakdown of valuation totals by classification — residential, commercial, agricultural, exempt and vacant — and Hackathorn said she will provide pie charts showing exempt versus taxable value and other summaries.
Commissioners and the finance director discussed how rising valuations affect the county budget. Finance Director Mark noted that higher valuations can lower the required rate (R and R) and therefore affect mill levy calculations; commissioners asked how a possible state-level cap on valuation increases would affect the appraiser’s work. Hackathorn said a state cap would use a prior year base and an index cap (for example, a 3% increase cap) and that appraisers would still need to maintain sales and market analyses in case the cap is lifted.
Hackathorn confirmed the county’s CVN publication meets state timing requirements and said she also will place the notice on the county website. The purchase order motion passed 3 to 0.
No additional formal county action was taken beyond the purchase order approval.
