Kenai Peninsula Borough board upholds assessor value in Burke appeal over removed override

The Kenai Peninsula Borough Board of Equalization on May 21 upheld the borough assessor’s recommended value of $209,700 for parcel 05514036 after hearing an appeal from property owner Toby Burke.

Burke, who lives on Bowie Avenue, told the board that the borough’s 2015 override on his home’s assessed value — placed after a localized flooding event — should not have been removed because chronic high groundwater and recurring drainage problems remain. "The removal of that override is arbitrary and capricious," Burke said, describing perennial high water and septic-system impacts on his property.

The assessing department described its process and records to the panel. Joseph Nations, appraiser 1 for the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assessing Department, said the department uses a market-adjusted cost approach and that a corrected assessment notice resulted after staff discovered an override that had remained on the structure in error. Nations told the board the override was placed after a 2015 event and should have been removed in prior reinspections but was missed; the department removed it for tax year 2025 after an inspection on April 7, 2025. "The assessing department requests the board of equalization uphold their value recommended below," Nations said.

Board members questioned Burke and assessing staff about the local drainage, past inspections and the basis for the legacy override. Burke described long-term neighborhood drainage changes and said some homes upstream now have higher water tables; Nations and land appraiser Heather Windsor described field inspections, the market-area sales used in the land model and adjustments the department applied (including removing septic-system value where a failure was reported).

After retiring briefly for adjudicative deliberations, the board returned and Member Bagley moved to uphold the assessor’s recommended value for parcel 05514036; the motion was seconded and passed on a 5–0 roll call (Wheeler yes; Glaives yes; Bagley yes; Cox yes; Chair Bellomini yes). In announcing findings, Bagley said the appellant had not presented sufficient evidence to prove an improper valuation and that the assessing department had addressed the appellant’s concerns with sales data and changes to improvements.

The board’s decision leaves the corrected 2025 assessment in place. The hearing record shows the assessor removed a $145,000 override that had been placed on the home after the 2015 flooding event and that the assessing department had applied other standard adjustments (septic, well) where documented.

The appellant may pursue further remedies under borough procedures or state law; the board’s jurisdiction at the hearing was to review the assessment and apply local ordinance and statute.