Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Property Tax Appraisals topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Wyandotte County appraiser explains how property values are set and how residents can check them
Summary
Wyandotte County Appraiser Matt Willard summarized how the office sets market value as of Jan. 1 under Kansas law, described in-house valuation practices and an annual cap-rate study, and gave residents phone, office and online options to verify property data or pursue an appeal.
Matt Willard, the Wyandotte County appraiser, outlined how the county establishes property market value, why some assessments rise even when homes are older, and how residents can verify or appeal their property records.
Willard said the appraised value is the portion of the property tax burden assigned to a parcel and that county appraisers “are establishing market value as of January 1st for a piece of real property.” He told listeners that once values are certified to the county clerk, they are used by taxing jurisdictions to calculate tax bills.
The county follows legal standards in Chapter 79 of the Kansas Statutes and the Kansas Constitution, Willard said, and noted that only the state legislature can change those statutes. He described the appraiser’s core duties as discovering, listing and valuing all real and personal property in Wyandotte County to arrive at a fair market value for tax apportionment.
Willard said most residential and commercial valuations are performed in-house by county staff. For commercial work, the office commissions an annual cap-rate study to supplement local data when necessary. “There is a cap rate study that gets commissioned annually due to the lack of available data in [the] county,” he said.
To confirm the information the office has on a property, Willard gave several options: call the appraiser’s office to speak with an appraiser (913-573-8400), visit the office at 8200 State Avenue to review property characteristics in person, or use the county’s online property-change form (the transcripted URL was garbled and not specified). He emphasized that these checks can be done without filing a formal appeal.
Willard explained why an older house can show a higher appraised value: appraisals reflect current market sales, so if similar properties are selling for more this year than last, the appraisal must reflect that reality. “Even with a year of age, if similar properties are selling more for more this year than they were last year, the appraised value will increase,” he said.
He also addressed why neighboring parcels sometimes appear inconsistent in value. Differences in condition, house size or lot size — and unpermitted remodels that the office was not notified about — can produce divergent appraisals. Willard noted the office visits every property at least once every five years, which he said is slightly more frequent than the state requirement of once every six years, and reiterated the role of the appeals process: “That’s why the property tax appeal process is important as it is. It lets folks come in and share where there are issues that need to be accounted for that would impact that sales price and thereby the value.”
No formal actions or votes were recorded in the presentation. Willard encouraged taxpayers with questions about their property records to contact the appraiser’s office by phone or in person and to use the online property-change form if they prefer to submit information electronically.
