Residents report steep reassessments; board asks staff to explain JD Power valuations

Several supervisors raised constituent concerns about individual reassessment notices and high personal-property bills during the meeting. Speaker 8 said constituents reported assessments increasing in the 25–40% range, including one constituent who "just got an assessment that says I'm 40%." Speaker 3 (commissioner—s office presenter) said assessor appeal hearings finished Dec. 6 and staff are finalizing outcomes. "We've had our assessor appeal hearings already. They finished up on December 6," Speaker 3 said, adding the initial call volume after notice issuance had declined after appeals and outreach.

Board members also questioned the county—s method for valuing personal property (vehicles). Speaker 7 relayed a constituent—s comparison between JD Power and Kelley Blue Book values and asked why the county uses JD Power. Speaker 3 explained that the county previously used NADA pricing guides and moved to JD Power when JD Power replaced the NADA guides. "JD Power kinda replaced those and we started using the JD Power because they replaced the NADA that everybody had chosen," Speaker 3 said, and offered to have staff (including the personal-property supervisor) meet with interested supervisors to explain the historical reasons and whether a different guide could be adopted.

Staff committed to follow-up: they will provide the board with the calculation separating reassessment-based increases from new-construction supplements and will arrange a meeting to walk through personal-property valuation methodology so supervisors can respond to constituent questions. No formal change to the valuation guide or taxonomy was made at the meeting; any change would require staff analysis and likely a separate decision process.