Sedgwick County commissioner warns appraisal changes could shift tax burdens after appraiser report

Commissioner Jim Howell of the Sedgwick County Commission told a Derby town-hall audience on Feb. 1 that recent appraisal results released by the county appraiser show wide variation between sales prices and appraised values and that the differences are shifting tax burdens between property owners.

Howell said the county appraiser’s recent report — which the commissioner said showed about 87% of recently sold residential homes sold at or above their appraised value and an average residential valuation increase of about 9% — highlights both outliers and a “wide error band” in the appraisal data that he wants narrowed.

The central point, Howell said, is that appraisal errors on both sides of market value matter: owners whose appraisals lag sales prices pay less than a “fair share,” while owners whose appraisals exceed sales prices may be overpaying. "The width of that red pattern is my concern. We need to do a better job of honing in on the right answer," he told attendees.

Why it matters: Howell said appraisal accuracy affects who pays property taxes and that some policy responses being discussed at the Kansas legislature — including averaging multiple years of valuation changes or capping annual increases — can “shift the tax burden” from one group of taxpayers to another. He urged a dynamic, more accurate appraisal process and improvements in modeling, staff training and verification at the appraiser’s office.

What the data shows: Howell described multiple charts from the appraiser’s sales-ratio data. He summarized results from a 12-month rolling set of home sales and said roughly 3,660 of the homes analyzed sold for more than their appraised value while about 522 sold for less. He also cited examples of extreme outliers he said will generate calls to the commission — for example, a parcel he said jumped from an earlier appraised value of about $417,200 to $794,100 in one year.

Appraiser independence and compliance: Howell reminded the audience that the county appraiser operates under the Property Valuation Division of the Kansas Department of Revenue and that the county funds the office but does not supervise the appraiser. He said the office must target 95% of fair market value and that, according to the commissioner, the appraiser’s sales-ratio performance recently met PVD thresholds (he cited being at about 91% for the year and said that was the first time in his tenure the appraiser was in compliance with the 90–110% standard).

Legislative options and local proposals: Howell said he had testified on HCR 5011 in Topeka and discussed the two common legislative fixes he has seen — multi-year averaging and growth caps — but warned both approaches can shift tax burdens to commercial or agricultural property owners or to households that did not see the same market increases. He told the audience he is inclined to press for a “tax lid” that would set a locally calculated growth limit and require a public vote to exceed it.

Public comment and follow-up: During Q&A a member of the homeless task force, Faith Martin, connected appraisal increases to housing supply and asked whether inclusionary housing policies or developer incentives should be studied to increase affordable housing supply. Howell said the county uses a reinvestment housing incentive (RHID) program and suggested state-level and local incentives and zoning changes could be part of the solution. He said he would pursue improvements in building codes and other regulatory changes to reduce construction costs where possible.

What Howell requested: Howell urged residents to examine the appraisal and sales data, to file appeals when appropriate, and to expect follow-up as the commission considers budget and tax policy responses. He said narrowing appraisal errors will require investment and that the county should improve its appraisal processes rather than rely solely on averaging or caps.

Ending: Howell closed the discussion by inviting residents to further engagement — including upcoming budget meetings and future town halls — and said he would continue conversations with the Property Valuation Division and legislators about both short-term fixes for outlier valuations and longer-term policy changes.