Williams County to revisit 2000–2009 property reclassification after widespread protests to 2026 assessments

Williams County tax director Leah presented the 2026 property assessment report on June 2, telling the county commission that North Dakota Century Code requires all real property be valued at true and full value based on sales from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2025. "The law requires that all real property be valued at true and full value," Leah said, explaining staff used 2025 sales and discarded non–arms-length transactions to build sales ratios.

Leah said the county recorded 94 usable residential sales in 2025 with an average sale price of $357,880 (up from $306,243 in 2024) and an overall residential sales ratio of about 91.86. She recommended leaving residential class levels near the presented figures (residential at 95.27, commercial at 93.82, agricultural at 94%), noting that reaching the statutory 100% level would require larger across-the-board increases.

Public comment quickly focused on large year-to-year assessment jumps after staff reclassified many homes built 2000–2009 into a distinct cohort. "My assessment went from $517,140 to $790,500 — a 52.9% increase," said Myron Oilo of Stony Creek Township, who asked for reconsideration. Leah responded that the county follows the sales pattern and that the statutory valuation date and sales analysis led to moving certain age groups into different classes.

Several other property owners raised similar concerns. Chason Greenwood said his value jumped about $20,000 this year and described structural and septic issues he said should lower valuation; he asked staff to re-evaluate his property. Troy Brader, whose valuation staff showed near $1.1 million, told the board the extrapolated comps did not reflect the market he sees and called the county’s extrapolations "incorrect." Daniel Weber, a neighbor, described a comparable abrupt increase.

Leah and assessor staff repeatedly offered on-site inspections and said owners could submit appraisals or realtor opinions as part of a formal protest or abatement. "We are always more than willing to come out to a property and re-evaluate," Leah said. Staff also acknowledged the standard notice mailed to owners is a state-regulated form and discussed adding a simple insert to highlight options to call or request inspections.

The substantive exchange shifted when commissioners and staff debated the treatment of mid‑age homes. Leah said sales for mid‑2000s homes were selling at rates different from both newer and older homes, which led the assessor to create a separate MIDIs classification (2000–2009) in city-level work and to apply adjustments across county jurisdictions. She said the city of Williston further isolated that pocket for its internal analysis, which changed some local ratios.

Commissioners asked whether reverting the 2000–2009 cohort to prior classifications would materially change county ratios and the risk of falling outside the state’s 90–100 median target. Leah recommended tabling detailed recalculations until staff could run countywide numbers and present corrected figures.

The board voted unanimously to continue the assessment matter and reconvene on June 16 at about 10:30 a.m., following the parkboard meeting. Commissioners also directed staff to move all classifications of property built 2000–2009 back into their original categories (e.g., city-specific classifications) and return with updated sales ratios and valuation numbers. Roll call on the motion was recorded as Barry: yes; Steve: yes; Corey: yes; Bo: yes; Chris: yes. The motion carried.

What happens next: staff will recalculate class-level ratios after reverting the 2000–2009 group and return to the board with updated numbers on June 16. Property owners who want individual reconsideration were told they may request an on-site re-evaluation or submit an appraisal or realtor opinion as part of the formal protest/abatement process.