Banner County board upholds assessor's values, denies tax protest from living trust

The Banner County Board of Equalization voted to accept the assessor's recommendation of no change and denied a property tax protest submitted by the Terry Paul Brown Living Trust following testimony and staff review at a tax protest hearing.

The hearing opened with the swearing in of Casey Krico, who participated in site review. A resident representing the protest described drought and a January storm that "literally moved hills," presented photos of washouts, standing water and damaged draws, and said the storm and prior fires have left some parcels unusable for grazing.

Staff explained the protest packet and a multi-tab spreadsheet (red: original materials; green: proposed changes; yellow: Department of Revenue instructions) and showed current and proposed values alongside an attempt to calculate percentage reductions for damaged real property. The record included photographs from the day of the storm and a follow-up visit in mid-July showing standing water and visible erosion.

Board members pressed for market evidence that land values had declined, noting the board's role is to equalize assessed value. One member pointed to Department of Revenue guidance discussed in the record, noting that loss of livestock or diminished grass for grazing does not, by itself, qualify as damaged real property for equalization purposes. Staff and Casey said they inspected the parcels from county roads and at least one dam site and relied on the photos and mapping included in the binder when preparing the recommendation.

After deliberation, a board member moved to accept the assessor's recommendation of no change on the parcels under protest; the motion was seconded and restated with parcel numbers read into the record. The roll-call vote recorded "Yes" responses from members John, Robin and Felice; the meeting record indicates the board carried the motion.

A separate protest filed by Tim and Carol Gifford for a house fire was ruled ineligible for action because it was postmarked after the filing deadline and therefore received no action. Board members discussed how postmarks are applied at hub post offices (North Platte) and advised filers to ensure timely delivery or hand-deliver materials.

The board closed the protest hearing and adjourned at 09:01.

Direct quotes in the hearing included the resident's description of storm damage: "it literally moved hills," and a board member's summary of Department of Revenue guidance that "loss of props and or livestock are not considered damaged property." The board did not change assessed values for the parcels in question; staff materials and the assessor's recommendation remain part of the meeting record.

The Banner County Board of Equalization did not take further public comment at the meeting; the protest hearing record and staff packet are retained with the county clerk for reference.