The Franklin County Board of Equalization on Nov. 6, 2025, heard three property valuation appeals from Connell-area property owners and announced its decisions at the close of the session.

The board sustained the assessor’s 2025 valuations in two appeals and reduced the improvements value in a third. For petition BE2025-08 (Parcel 109651067, Leslie and Gabriel Savage Trust), the board sustained the assessor’s value of $371,900. For petition BE2025-10 (Parcel 117292136, Jeffrey Bartlett), the board sustained the assessor’s value of $443,500. For petition BE2025-11 (Parcel 115180166, Roxanne Overman), the board sustained the land value at $137,000 and reduced the improvements value to $757,600. Chair Lexi Morris said written decisions will be mailed within four weeks and will include information about appeals to the State Board of Tax Appeals.

Why it mattered: appellants in each case challenged how the assessor selected comparables and applied time adjustments. Appellants argued that the assessor mixed dissimilar sales (e.g., small residential lots vs. acreage) or used sales that already reflected prior valuation increases, producing inflated valuations. Assessors answered with statistical and neighborhood analyses and said they followed mass-appraisal standards and state law.

In the first hearing, a representative connected to the Leslie and Gabriel Savage Trust described the parcel as raw land with no improvements and said the assessor improperly combined small lot sales with acreage sales. The appellant argued that comparable acreage sales supported a lower landed value (about $212,000) and criticized the assessor’s ratio method. "The value of land is what somebody's willing to pay for it," the appellant said, arguing for reliance on acreage comparables.

Assessor Robert Fisher responded that the office used eight comparable sales, time-adjusted sales to the statutory appraisal date of Jan. 1, 2025, and applied regression analysis consistent with IAAO standards. Fisher noted a mean and median close to parity with sales and asked the board to uphold the assessor’s figure of $371,900.

In the second hearing, petitioner Jeffrey Bartlett said he bought his house at 4300 Meadowsweet Street for $395,000 on Jan. 4, 2023, and argued that the assessor’s model was producing a "massive market-distorting" land valuation increase that was previously appealed and reduced in 2023. Bartlett also disputed a reported inspection date and complained that a derelict neighboring property dragged down marketability but was not reflected in the assessor’s report. Assessor Tim Kelly set out eight comparable sales and the cost-based approach calibrated to market sales and asked the board to sustain $443,500.

In the third hearing, Roxanne Overman disputed comparables and dates/square-footage on assessor exhibits and argued her neighborhood's market was softer than the comps used. Assessor Clark Dixon and chief appraiser Nikki Morgan pointed to neighborhood statistics and a comparable sale with similar oversized garage and detached shop; they acknowledged the market had softened after Jan. 1, 2025, but said post-appraisal-date sales cannot be used for the current assessment year. Overman said she could not sell her home for the $942,000 figure cited in the assessor’s materials.

Board action and next steps: After questions and short rebuttals, the board announced the three outcomes listed above. The board’s written decisions will explain findings and the statutory appeal path; appellants were told the decisions are appealable to the State Board of Tax Appeals.

All quotations and attributions in this report come directly from speakers during the Nov. 6, 2025 hearings recorded by the Franklin County Board of Equalization. The board’s decisions were read into the record at the session’s end and will be provided in writing.