Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Property Tax topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Residents press county over rising assessments as Horace council schedules special equalization meeting
Summary
Cass County equalization staff presented 2024'2025 market-value data and a group of Horace residents and council members pressed for city-specific sales ratios, counts of affected parcels and clarification of how two-year tax abatements and new state rules affect individual tax bills. Council agreed to a special meeting for follow-up.
Cass County's equalization team told the Horace City Council on April 20 that market values rose modestly in 2025 but that local effects vary, prompting residents to demand more detail and a follow-up session.
"In terms of the market for single-family homes in 2024, we finished out the year with an average market value of 320,000 in 2024 that increased to 330,000 for 2025," Cass County representative Matt Stanger said as he walked through countywide data and Horace-specific summaries. He said the county uses median values to reduce the influence of extreme sales and that sales that closed at listed values form the basis of assessments.
Residents and council members pushed back, saying their assessed values have jumped far faster than those averages. One council member said her assessment rose more than $250,000 over 10 years without property improvements. "I have some very significant concerns about the consistent raising of property values in Horace," she said, asking the county to provide sales-ratio figures and the number of properties that account for the reported residential value increase.
Stanger said the county is bound by state law to keep assessments near market and that sales-ratio and city-specific statistics can be provided. He also noted that taxable value calculations include properties removed from a two-year tax abatement and that those roll-offs can materially change a year-to-year total.
Council members asked whether the widely discussed 3% budget cap applies to individual property valuations; Stanger clarified the 3% rule governs jurisdictions' levy increases, not the appraisal of individual parcels.
The council did not approve the assessment roll that night. After extended questions from council and members of the public, the council voted to adjourn the equalization item and convene a special meeting to review Horace-specific sales-ratio data, parcel counts and the county's methodology before taking action.
The council asked county staff to provide sales-ratio numbers for Horace, counts of residential and partially constructed-home parcels included in the residential-structure increase, and a breakdown showing how the two-year abatement expirations affected the local taxable value. The special meeting was set so councilors and staff can cross-check the county's inputs before any certification or final approval is considered.
