Auditor says state’s 5% residential equalization assignment set to zero; no mass equalization notices planned

Benton County’s auditor told the Board of Supervisors the state’s final equalization order reduced an earlier 5% residential equalization assignment to zero, so the county will not send separate equalization notices to property owners.

The auditor said the assessor had disputed the earlier 5% residential increase and the final state order returned a 0% assignment. As a result, the auditor said staff will not send out equalization notices; taxpayers will receive their regular assessment notices if their values change under the roll.

Why this matters: changes to equalization procedures affect how and when taxpayers receive notices about property assessments. Supervisors asked whether state rollbacks or other state-level revenue changes might affect the county’s application of assessments; the auditor said she was waiting for state rollbacks and related data before making final calculations.

Details from the meeting: the auditor said office staff are preparing groundwork for evaluation and waiting on state rollback figures that could affect how assessments are applied. The auditor clarified that the county’s local dollars should not be redirected by the equalization finding and confirmed there will be no separate 5% equalization notices sent on the basis of the now-overturned assignment.

The board recorded the explanation for the record but took no separate motion on equalization at this meeting.