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Kenai Peninsula Borough assessor outlines code rewrite, appeals numbers and rollout of $75,000 residential exemption
Summary
Assessor Adena Wilcox described a code rewrite splitting property chapters, reported appeals figures (63,259 notices mailed; 417 informal appeals; 118 formal appeals; 51 exemption appeals), and explained the new $75,000 residential exemption rollout and administrative packet changes.
Adena Wilcox, Kenai Peninsula Borough Assessor, told the Board of Equalization the assessing department completed a code rewrite and a long-term land model and reported appeal volumes and exemption application counts ahead of upcoming hearings.
Wilcox said the code rewrite reorganized the borough’s property code into four sections: 5.11 for personal property, 5.12 for real property, 5.13 for exemptions and 5.15 for tax appeals and the BOE. She said the department’s land model is now complete after a multiyear effort and that the borough will move to a five-year inspection cycle supported by pictometry imagery.
Wilcox provided appeal and exemption statistics: the department mailed 63,259 assessment notices on Feb. 27; handled 417 informal appeals (down from prior years) and received 118 formal appeals, of which 35 parcels from seven property owners will be heard by the board in late May. She said the department received 14,995 exemption applications overall, 12,196 filed online and 2,799 on paper, and that 51 formal exemption appeals were filed with four coming to the board this year.
On the new $75,000 residential exemption approved by voters last fall, Wilcox clarified timing and proof requirements: the new exemption was approved in October 2025 and applications were due Feb. 17 under the updated code; the department uses the Permanent Fund Dividend as an audit tool for residency but said the PFD is not strictly required — applicants may supply alternative documentation (airline tickets, doctor’s notes or affidavits) to meet the 185-day residency test.
Wilcox described changes to appeal packets and the board’s opening procedures: instead of reading lengthy procedural material at every hearing, the department will provide an administrative summary that presents the pertinent facts and a recommended value, include photos, maps, property records and ratio studies, and make related evidence available in the record for potential appellate review.
Board members requested a roster of staff who may present at hearings; Wilcox provided names of appraisal staff and said she would supply a list. The clerk confirmed that the long procedure page the chair traditionally read at each hearing did not go out with packets this year, though the updated appeal-procedure code language was included in hearing notices.
Wilcox concluded by noting the department had worked to resolve as many appeals as possible before bringing matters to the BOE and that only a small subset of appeals will appear before the board in May.
