Emery County commissioners approve 2025 BOE property classification adjustments

The board of county commissioners of Emery County approved adjustments to property classifications and select assessments for the 2025 Board of Equalization at a special meeting Sept. 22 at the Emery County Administration Building in Gastel, Utah.

An unidentified speaker (labeled Speaker 3 in the transcript) presented several parcel-specific corrections that staff had flagged during the county's reappraisal work, including reclassifying small numbers of properties from "secondary" to residential and restoring or removing values where a structure had been mischaracterized. "Values did not change, just the codes," Speaker 3 said during the discussion of one parcel that qualified as a primary residence after staff confirmed occupants had lived there more than 183 days.

Why it matters: The BOE adjustments affect how properties are classified for tax assessment and can change property tax liability in later calculations. Commissioners said they would review a final chart after the meeting and retained the option to make further commission adjustments if errors are later identified.

Key changes discussed - Parcel 0100780003 (referred to as in "Ameren"): staff changed the code from secondary to residential after staff reported the buyer moved into the property in May and met the occupancy threshold; no assessed value change reported. - Parcel 1128-0029 (Farrin): code changed from secondary to residential; staff reported no value change. - Parcel 0300730005 (near Cleveland): staff removed the lot value and an $8,700 storage-related value after a home on the parcel burned down and utilities were moved to a different parcel where a new home is located. - Parcel 01151G0091 (Emery Telkom, Green River): commissioners debated whether to keep a full-lot assessment ($19,200 shown in the record) for a 0.11-acre parcel that includes a building or apply the smaller-lot adjustment used previously on a Huntington parcel; they directed staff to be consistent with past treatment. - Parcel 0101950062 (Huntington): the parcel was purchased at a May tax sale and a residential declaration was filed; Huntington City reported the property was not paying sewer or garbage, and commissioners discussed leaving the classification as secondary given uncertainty about occupancy. - Parcel 0101300030 (Farrin): staff will remove an erroneous storage coding (about $3,300) applied in 2024, restore the prior house value, and change the land code to residential because staff confirmed it is a primary home.

Vote and procedural notes Speaker 2 moved to approve the 2025 BOE adjustments; Speaker 4 seconded. The meeting recorded roll-call responses of "Aye" for Wardwood, Landard and Jensen; the motion was announced as passing. Speaker 1 noted the county will produce a final chart after the adjustments and that the commission can make further changes if necessary.

The meeting adjourned following the vote.