Gage County Board of Equalization approves homestead corrections, discusses countywide reappraisal timeline

The Gage County Board of Equalization approved tax-correction slips identified as homestead exemptions numbered 9 through 16 during its July 24 meeting and discussed steps toward a countywide reappraisal to update property valuations for 2025.

Speaker 2 called the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m. and noted the Open Meetings Act was posted in the room. After a brief roll call and procedural items, the board voted unanimously on routine business: the agenda and prior meeting minutes were approved, each motion recorded as carrying with a 5–0 vote.

Why it matters: Homestead exemptions reduce assessed value for qualifying property owners and the adjustments approved were described by board staff as the result of a state audit that requires retroactive corrections. The board’s discussion about a reappraisal reflects a broader effort to update parcel values countywide, an exercise that affects many taxpayers and sets the base for future local property tax assessments.

Board action on homestead exemptions Speaker 6 explained the technical basis for the slides brought before the board: “They’re homestead exemptions that they go back and audit, and then we have to make the correction to whatever the audit says,” and added those corrections are performed by the state and typically go back three years. Speaker 2 moved to approve tax correction slips numbered 9 through 16; the motion was recorded as moved by Swavely and seconded by Dorn, and the board voted 5 in favor.

Reappraisal planning and vendor selection Board members spent the bulk of discussion on whether and how to contract outside appraisal firms to perform a revaluation. Speaker 6 said the county will likely hire firms based outside the immediate area "out of Lincoln or Omaha," noted the use of iPads and recent pictometry flyovers to support appraisals, and said the process may be staged by quadrant rather than a single-year countywide sweep. He told the board a reappraisal intended for the 2025 cycle would need much of the work completed by March: “If we want them for '25, they have to be done on 03/19/2025,” Speaker 6 said.

Members discussed scheduling a planning meeting with potential vendors and suggested the morning of Aug. 5 for a committee session; Speaker 6 added that vendors often prefer earlier start times due to travel. Board members also discussed the appraisal system’s treatment of condition and effective age, with Speaker 6 explaining that elements such as foundations, roofs, furnaces and windows will be captured more granularly in the new system than in past practice.

Next steps and hearings The board recessed the meeting until 1:00 p.m. to reconvene for property valuation protests; Speaker 2 closed the morning session at 8:47 a.m. Protest hearings were scheduled to be held that afternoon.

The board did not take any further formal actions on reappraisal contracting at the July 24 session; members agreed to pursue vendor meetings and further committee planning.