Gage County Board of Equalization approves one-year maintenance agreement with appraisal contractor; discusses reappraisal timeline

The Gage County Board of Equalization voted to approve a maintenance agreement with Standard Appraisal Service covering July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025, after a period of staff discussion about the contract’s scope and the countywide reappraisal schedule.

The agreement, described during the meeting as a continuation of a long-standing relationship, covers pickup work and commercial-property appraisal support, and the board recorded the motion as passing with five members in favor. Assessor staff said the contract is typically structured as a capped-hours arrangement (the board discussed a figure of "up to 400–464 hours") rather than a flat fee.

Why it matters: the maintenance contract provides technical capacity for complex valuations the assessor’s office said it cannot complete with existing full-time staff alone, including work on large industrial and ethanol facilities. Board members tied the contract to the county’s multi-year reappraisal plan and asked about succession planning if the long-time contractor retires.

Miss Milligan, the assessor staff member who led much of the discussion, said the county has used the contractor for decades and expects this to be a transitional year: "We've had this contract probably for 20 years," she said, noting that staffer Josh is being trained to handle more of the workload.

Board members pressed staff about how the contract fits with the reappraisal schedule. Staff outlined a multi-year approach: villages and small-town commercial properties were planned for this fiscal year with work to be completed by March 2025, and Beatrice scheduled for 2025–26; rural acreages were assigned to staffer Josh.

Staff also described a migration to a new appraisal system (MIPS) and updates to costing tables for 2023–24 to account for emerging property types, such as barndominiums and converted grain bins being used as event venues, which staff said require new valuation treatments.

The motion to approve the maintenance agreement was moved by Swavely and seconded by Dorn; the board recorded "5 in favor." The contract term recorded at the meeting was July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025.

Next steps: staff will proceed under the approved agreement while continuing training and system updates tied to the countywide reappraisal schedule.