The Douglas County Board of Equalization dismissed a penalty protest filed by Belling Dental PC at its Jan. 6 meeting after the county assessor's office said the business failed to file a required personal property return by the May 1 deadline.

"This business simply did not file its personal property return by the May 1 filing deadline," said Mister Sosa of the Douglas County Assessor/Register of Deeds office. Sosa told commissioners statutory penalties apply for late filings and described the county's statutory framework as non‑discretionary in most cases: "Statutorily, if you miss that deadline, there are mandatory penalties... In this case, there are 10% of the taxes due penalty." He added that the ability to waive such penalties is limited to two reasons: that the penalty was wrongly applied or that it was incorrectly calculated.

Sosa recommended the board dismiss the protest; a motion to dismiss the protest was made and seconded and the vote to dismiss was recorded as 7–0. Chair and board members did not grant an exception for the taxpayer's explanation that an accounting change had delayed the filing. Sosa noted the penalty amount at issue was "not a significant penalty" on the record (approximately $228 as discussed in the session).

The Board of Equalization previously approved the minutes for its Dec. 16, 2025 meeting and set Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026 for a hearing on certified assessment corrections, items the board handled earlier in the session.

The dismissal was a formal action of the Board of Equalization; the decision reduces county staff time required for further review of this specific protest but does not change underlying statutory requirements for filing deadlines.