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Rushford Village residents press county assessor about rising property values at Truth and Taxation meeting
Summary
At a Dec. 2 Truth and Taxation session, residents raised concerns that county appraisal methods may be inflating residential values by comparing older homes with newer recreational parcels; the council urged affected homeowners to contact Fillmore County Assessor Ryan Rasmussen and noted the proposed 2026 levy was trimmed to a working 5.77%.
Mayor Dennis Overland called the Truth and Taxation portion of the Dec. 2 meeting to order at 6:45 p.m. in the Rushford Village office. Residents Ray and Marie Steichen attended and were told this was a budget overview session rather than a forum to resolve individual valuation disputes.
Councilmember Robert Hart said he is concerned about how Fillmore County determines property values and told residents evaluations appear to compare dissimilar properties. "Evaluations should be compared to similar properties, not by taking an older house and comparing it to a newer house in that area," Hart said, and he encouraged homeowners to contact Fillmore County Assessor Ryan Rasmussen with their concerns.
Ray Steichen told the council he had been told by Fillmore County that assessors had fallen behind on appraisals and that staff have been working to catch up over the last 18 months. Hart noted the county has had turnover in its assessor staff, saying there have been three new assessors in the last three to four years.
The Truth and Taxation session included a preliminary presentation of the proposed 2026 levy, which earlier in the process showed a 14.5% increase over the prior year; council members said they have been working to reduce that figure and had lowered it to a working 5.77% at the Dec. 2 meeting.
The Truth and Taxation meeting closed at 6:58 p.m. and the council convened its regular meeting. The council advised residents that county open-book and board-of-review processes occur in the spring and are the appropriate venues to pursue property-value appeals.
