Davis County schedules April hearing after assessor seeks $40,000 appraisal in long-running Lagoon tax appeal

County budget officials agreed on Nov. 18 to restore a $40,000 professional-services line so an independent appraisal can be completed in a long-running property tax appeal with Lagoon.

The appraisal funding was removed earlier from the tenant budget, but staff said the county needs the appraisal to move the matter to a hearing after multiple reviews since 2017. Staff presented parcel-level estimates and said, using the assessor’s prospective appraiser figures, the county’s approximate total refund exposure could be about $2.776 million if the appraisal values are accepted.

The county’s assessor staff explained the valuation methodology, told the committee that some years required estimation in the county’s calculation, and urged the committee to set a hearing date so the matter does not continue to be delayed. Committee members discussed the appeal path, noting that an appellant can seek review at the state level if the county denies the appeal, and that the county has discretion to deny continuances should the appellant request them.

Committee members settled on scheduling a hearing on April 7 to allow the appraiser time to finish and to provide review time for both parties. Andy, the staff member coordinating the appraisal work, told the committee he would schedule the hearing and handle on-site inspections and appraiser coordination.

“The 40 thousand’s back in,” staff said after the committee agreed to restore the appropriation, emphasizing the urgency to resolve the multi-year appeal rather than continue repeated reviews and interim appraisals.

Next steps: county staff will complete the contracted appraisal, circulate the appraisal to interested parties, and proceed with the April 7 hearing to seek a final determination. If the appraisal numbers are accepted at hearing or otherwise sustained, the county may face refunds on the order presented during the Nov. 18 briefing.