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Presenter: Agricultural property values continuing to fall; assessor to return with more data
Summary
A county presenter told commissioners that agricultural land values in Cheyenne County have continued to decline, explained the appraisal methodology (median and eight-year averages) and said staff will provide graphs and further detail at the next meeting.
A presenter briefed the Cheyenne County Commission on preliminary appraisal figures showing that agricultural property values continue to decline in the county, and explained how the county calculates assessed values.
The presenter said that smaller counties rely on longer sales windows and medians to avoid outliers in appraisal work. "In the appraisal world, we go off of median because that eliminates your outliers," the presenter said, adding that ag values published by the state use weighted averages and an eight‑year averaging method, which produces a lag in reflected local changes.
The presenter told commissioners the ag values being published for the current cycle are down compared with last year and that residential values appear to be stabilizing in the county. He cautioned that when ag values decline while county expenditures remain constant, the share of revenue attributed to ag parcels contributes less and the difference must be borne elsewhere in the tax base.
The presenter said staff will return with more detailed graphs and regional breakdowns at the next meeting and noted a planned outreach visit to the senior center to explain value changes to residents ahead of tax notices.
Commissioners asked for follow-up information and noted they would benefit from additional regional data and charts so they can explain changes to constituents. The presenter said he would provide more detailed information at the next meeting.
