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Board approves owner-occupied status for two property appeals after owners say applications were mailed
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Summary
Pennington County Board of Equalization approved owner-occupied status for two property owners who told commissioners they had timely mailed applications that the county could not locate; county staff said no applications were on file by the statutory deadline.
The Pennington County Board of Equalization voted April 29 to grant owner-occupied status to two property owners who said they mailed owner-occupancy applications before the deadline.
Shannon Rittberger, director of equalization, told the board the office had no timely owner-occupied applications on file for the two parcels (Moon and Nelson) but that both owners asserted they had mailed forms. Mrs. Moon told the board, “My husband mailed it, after we talked to Shannon... we sent it in,” and asked the board how to fix the discrepancy.
Commissioners discussed the risk of postal delays and how often residents report missing paperwork. One commissioner said the county postal service in some areas “is not up to snuff,” and another urged staff to check property records for purchase dates to confirm ownership timing. The board’s motion to approve owner-occupied status for both properties was made by a commissioner and seconded; the board voted in favor and the motion carried.
The approval changes how the county will treat the properties’ assessments for the current tax year; county appraisers had said they lacked a completed application filed by the statutory deadline. Rittberger and senior appraiser Shannon Champion were present to answer commissioners’ procedural questions about application records and deadlines.
The board moved on to other appeals after the vote; the meeting recessed for additional contested items to be heard the following day.
