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State revenue official: York County rollback affected far more parcels and value than recommended
Summary
The Nebraska Department of Revenue told York County commissioners the board's July rollback of residential assessments affected 2,586 parcels (about $212 million in value) versus a DOR-recommended list of 1,224 parcels (~$17 million). The department advised a county'state action plan, targeted corrections, and better parcel-level data.
York County commissioners and the Board of Equalization on Tuesday heard a formal review from the Nebraska Department of Revenue into a July action that reverted certain property assessments to prior levels.
Sarah Scott, the department's property tax administrator, said the department's analysis showed a narrow set of about 1,224 parcels should have been adjusted (reducing county value by roughly $17 million), but the board's action affected 2,586 parcels valued at roughly $212 million. "We had recommended 1,224 parcels that would have reduced the county's value by less than 1%, approximately $17,000,000 in value," Scott said. "The actions taken by the board affected 2,586 parcels for $212,000,000."
Scott told the board the county's post-action residential assessed level was about 84%, below the statutory target range of 92%–100% and that discrepancy requires attention to protect school equalization and other downstream calculations. She described two primary remedies: petitioning the state review process (TURF) or preparing a targeted list of parcels for correction and said the department can help produce a school-adjusted-value report and recommended employing independent appraiser "referees" to evaluate protests.
Board members described the July vote as an emergency step taken under constituent pressure after some homeowners reported dramatic increases in assessed values. One commissioner summarized the local view: residents were calling about valuations that had jumped "from 300 to 600,000" and the board sought a stop-gap to "put those fires out for the time being." Several commissioners also said they observed assessment "anomalies" and inconsistent parcel changes that made a broad, parcel-by-parcel correction difficult without additional data.
The Department of Revenue urged the county to finish its ongoing reevaluation, improve comparable-sales and parcel-level data, and form a small county-state committee to develop a corrective action plan. Scott said an end-of-January timeline for committee deliverables would be reasonable if the county wants to pursue earlier informal protests or notice changes.
The board agreed to form a small committee (two commissioners plus county staff and a state representative) to work with the department and return with a plan for targeted corrections and protest-handling procedures.
The county did not take any immediate binding corrective action during the meeting; Scott said the department had certified 2024 property values and that further steps will focus on planning and narrowly tailored remedies rather than repeating broad rollbacks.
What happens next: commissioners asked staff to work with the state to draft an action plan and to return to the full board with committee recommendations and any paperwork required to pursue targeted corrections.
