Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Board Of Equalization topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board of Equalization denies some appeals, approves others after review of eight petitions
Summary
The Utah County Board of Equalization considered eight petitions, approving assessor review and hearing process reports and approving four appeals (including a property damaged by a plane and a petition citing medical hardship) while denying petitions that lacked statutory grounds or sufficient factual support. Commissioners distinguished legal disputes from factual errors in a contested billboard valuation case.
The Utah County Board of Equalization (BOE) met to consider eight items, approving standard procedures and hearing multiple petitions related to property valuations.
The panel re-approved the assessor review process and the hearing process reports by voice vote. On individual appeals, the BOE denied a petition tied to a 2017 divorce because the filing lacked factual detail that would qualify it under statute, and denied a petition that cited working out of state for similar reasons of insufficient substantiation. The BOE approved a petition for a structure still under construction after staff described the level of completeness that should be used to determine valuation; it also approved an appeal involving a house damaged by a plane crash. Another petition supported by extensive, voluntarily submitted medical details was approved under the county’s indigent/medical considerations.
A notably complex case concerned a late filing tied to a dispute over billboard leases. Assessor’s staff (Peter Jepsen) and county attorneys explained that the issue centers on whether the matter is a factual error (e.g., incorrect square footage) or a legal question about exclusive use under a lease. Jepsen told commissioners the case is in litigation with the State Tax Commission and that the county’s position is the use establishes exclusive possession of the billboard; staff recommended denial of the late-filed appeal because it does not present a verifiable factual error. Commissioners agreed the dispute was legal rather than factual and denied the petition.
All motions on the regular BOE agenda were carried by the three voting members present (most votes recorded 3-0). Chair’s procedural motions adjourned the BOE and transitioned to the Board of County Commissioners meeting.
