Sarpy County Board of Equalization accepts referee recommendations, reduces valuations on several parcels after public protests

The Sarpy County Board of Equalization met July 21 and, after hearing public testimony and a short executive review, accepted the referees' recommendations for most of the 627 valuation protests on the docket and approved parcel-specific reductions for multiple taxpayers.

Chair Don Kelly opened the hearing and invited Deputy County Assessor Jackie Moorhead and county appraisers to summarize the assessor's work. Moorhead told the board the assessor's office mailed 69,819 valuation notices this year, received about 2,360 contacts from property owners, and recorded 627 formal protests; referees recommended adjustments to 54 properties for the board's consideration.

Several public commenters highlighted recurring disputes over how Sarpy County classifies wooded or steep ground. Gerald Venduska asked the board to reclassify parts of three parcels from timberland to wasteland, citing a 2016 TURK decision that favored him on one parcel and presenting photographs and statutory citations. "I was just trying to prove that my land was wasteland," Venduska said, adding that he believed his evidence matched the waste definitions the county uses.

Jamieson McShane, the county's rural acreage appraiser, told commissioners the assessor's office had reviewed the 2016 TURK decision and adjusted the affected parcel in 2024 but continued to view some areas as timberland where the timberland definition better fit the evidence. "We did take that TURK hearing into account and we did change quite a bit of that southernmost parcel," McShane said, while also describing the statutory land-class categories and the LVG schedules the office uses to value differing land types.

Ron Patterson, a long-time area landowner, pressed the board on mapping inconsistencies and what he called a recurring ‘‘double-dip’’ in the assessor model: the practice of assigning a 1st-acre homesite value ($125,000) even when non-ag acreage around a house was smaller than an acre. Patterson asked the board to change classifications on six parcels and to correct apparent additions of homesite acreage on tax cards. "This modeling business... it's not being done right," Patterson said.

Appraisers and a referee coordinator explained that assessments are made annually based on conditions as of Jan. 1 each year, and that TURK decisions apply to the record before TURK; new or changed evidence can prompt different annual determinations. Tim Ederer, another assessor appraiser, said the 2016 TURK ruling concerned accretion ground along the Platte River, which can be functionally different from other timbered areas.

Another resident, Clayton Raves, urged the board to reinstate referee findings that had lowered the quality rating on his house in prior years, saying the assessor's office would not provide the underlying submissions he requested. "I asked Mr. Wilkie if I could see what the assessor's office had provided as information. He said he hadn't opened it yet," Raves said. Appraisers recommended a full interior/exterior inspection to set the property record card correctly; the board ordered follow-up inspections where needed.

After a recess to consult with county attorneys, the board reconvened and voted to accept the referees' recommendations broadly. Commissioners then voted on several exceptions requested during the hearing. The board approved reductions that change portions of multiple parcels from timberland to wasteland and reduced land valuations on multiple parcels brought by Gerald Venduska and Ron Patterson; it also adopted a revised building valuation for Clayton Reeves' parcel, changing the house's grade to "fair plus" and reducing the building value accordingly. Commissioners said assessor staff should validate the math and complete any needed inspections before the values are finalized.

The board recorded the motions as passed; no formal roll-call tallies were included in the record beyond the chair's announcement that motions passed. The board recessed to allow staff to do the needed calculations and review, setting a reconvene window through July 24, 2026.

Why it matters: classification and valuation disputes—especially timberland versus wasteland and the assessor's first-acre homesite modeling—have direct tax impacts for rural and residential property owners. The board's decisions change taxable values for specific parcels this year and set follow-up work (inspections and math checks) that could affect final assessed values and future appeals.

The board instructed assessor staff to work with affected taxpayers to reconcile disputed home-site and building valuations and to return corrected figures for final validation. The meeting recessed at 4:09 p.m. and the board set a call window to reconvene before July 24.