County assessor closes 2025 roll, flags wind-turbine phase-in and pending appeals to Supreme Court

Carissa, the county assessor, told the board the county closed the 2025 assessment year after adding $362,000,000 in total value, including $7,870,000 in new construction and $15,800,000 attributable to the wind-turbine phase-in. She reported the county's overall ratio at 98.11%, agricultural at 100.06% and commercial at 99.98%, and said she does not expect equalization until the state reviews submitted data and issues tentative orders in September.

Carissa said the assessor's office is starting 2026 field work in rural residential areas and is piloting 360-degree camera imagery on field vehicles, with imagery uploaded to Google for redaction. She said the cameras and mounts are a low-cost alternative to third-party street-imagery services and that the county expects better coverage at far lower cost.

The assessor described 18 PAB cases from 2023—25 and said eight of those were already filed in the board's PAB docket. She explained the county is part of a group of counties following the McDermott appellate-court issue involving the assessment of certain pressure tanks; a district-court ruling mirrored the appellate decision, and the matter is now before the state supreme court. Carissa said the legislature elected to wait for the court's decision before changing code and that the county will request stays on 2025 assessments pending the supreme court ruling.

On valuation specifics, the assessor and supervisors discussed whether certain farm tanks are considered "ordinarily removed." Carissa explained the practical difficulty and noted the potential for substantial lost assessed value if the court requires removing many tanks from the assessment roll; she said the county will continue to use outside counsel experienced in the issue and is coordinating with other counties on legal strategy.

Carissa also briefed the board on an upcoming reappraisal project for commercial, industrial and multi-residential properties, estimating approximately half of the roughly $2.8 million project budget will be spent this fiscal year.

No formal board action on assessment appeals was taken during the meeting; Carissa said the assessor's office will request stays and await the supreme court's guidance before altering assessment practice.