Millard County Board of Equalization hears appeals, approves multiple value adjustments and procedural actions

The Millard County Commission, acting as the Board of Equalization, considered multiple property appeals, accepted several hearing officer recommendations to adjust assessed values, dismissed a late submission, granted a brief extension to another appellant because of a death in the family, and recessed into closed session for commercial-property cases.

At the start of the BOE segment, staff noted a set of assessor corrections and hearing officer recommendations for residential parcels. The board accepted an assessor adjustment for Parcel F-303 (owner listed as Mark Caldwell on the packet), approving the assessor-recommended correction after inspection found damage to the property that affected valuation.

The board received evidence submitted late from parcel F-7338-11 (owner Randy Williams). Staff explained the evidence arrived after a 10-day notice-of-intent-to-dismiss window had elapsed. A commissioner moved to dismiss the late evidence from Randy Mullins (transcript alternately referenced Mullins/Williams); the motion to dismiss the late evidence was approved.

The board then considered a late appeal submitted by the Foundation for Enlightenment for several parcels (F-7415-1, 6894, 6894-2, 6894-1, 6894-2-3). Staff said the appellant had applied in early 2024 for a religious/charitable/educational-use exemption that had been denied because the land remained vacant and therefore had not been deemed devoted to religious use. Because the late filing was tied to a death in the family, the commission voted to give the appellant 10 days to submit supporting evidence "with intent to dismiss" if no evidence is received.

The commission then took up multiple hearing officer stipulations and recommendations:

- Parcel F-7030-2 (owner Laurie Matthews): The hearing officer recommended a $30,000 reduction, lowering the market value to $709,000. The board voted to accept that recommendation.

- Parcel 5929 (owner Lawrence Mitchell, care of Irene Mitchell): The hearing officer recommended lowering the value to $142,500, a roughly 5% reduction from the listing used as evidence. The board accepted the recommendation.

- Parcel 7889-B-1 (owner Gilad LLC): Staff and commissioners debated the hearing officer's methodology and comparables. Commissioners questioned inconsistencies between similar cases and evidence in different parts of the county. After discussion, a commissioner proposed reducing the valuation to $1,200 per acre, arriving at $121,300; that motion was seconded and approved.

- Parcel D-1064-4 (owner Roger Stevenson): The hearing officer recommended an adjusted value of $545,000 after reconciling differences between the county's mass appraisal records and an independent appraisal provided by the owner; the BOE approved the hearing officer's recommendation.

After the residential cases, the commission recessed the public BOE session and moved into a closed session to hear commercial-property appeals. Staff asked any audience members present for commercial cases to step outside so they could be called in when their case was reached.

Several commissioners commented on broader valuation trends, noting that countywide reappraisals and greenbelt determinations have altered values in some areas and that growth perceptions in Utah are affecting market values. Staff emphasized the BOE process allows appeals to be appealed to the state if parties are dissatisfied.

The board recorded each action in the minutes and directed staff to process the adjustments and notifications required by BOE procedures.