The assessed value of property in Leflore County increased overall by 2.1% in the past year, a fairly standard change that still could result in a lowering of the mills that will fund the newly consolidated school district.
Leflore County Assessor Leroy Ware presented his annual assessed valuation comparison between 2019 and 2018 to the Board of Supervisors this week in a process that will be finalized in August.
“This is pretty much standard,” Ware said Tuesday. “The numbers will fluctuate from year to year.”
With the budget set for the Greenwood Leflore Consolidated School District, a focus of concern by county residents is how much more they will have to pay to support the district compared to the taxes they paid for the Leflore County Schools. That question drew dozens of farmers to appear before the supervisors on June 24 to voice their concerns.
Estimates have placed the millage rate for the new school district at 46 mills. That would be 9 mills lower than Greenwood taxpayers paid to support the Greenwood Public School District and 8 mills higher than county residents pay. The change is due to the need to equalize the mills across the county so all property will be taxed at the same rate.
Ware said the increase in assessed value for county property could lower the mills applied for the schools, which would help soften the blow to Leflore County taxpayers while providing Greenwood taxpayers with an even bigger reduction.
It’s still too early in the process to make that determination. The next step will be for supervisors to review lists of property in their districts and to question Ware and his staff on how values of certain parcels were figured compared to like properties. The supervisors have the power to change any assessment but must bring it before the board for a vote on the change.
Individuals may appeal the assessment on their property to the assessor’s office if they can show similar properties in their neighborhoods are assessed at a lower value. If they’re not happy with the response from the assessor’s office, they can appear before the supervisors on the first Monday in August and state their argument.
If that doesn’t work for them, property owners can take the matter to Circuit Court and have a judge and jury set the assessed value of their property.
Ware said some of the larger manufacturing companies in the county have individuals or departments that regularly contest any increase in their assessed value. Among homeowners, his office usually hears from 10 to 20 people, and five to 10 of them take the matter to the supervisors, he said.
The total assessed value for Leflore County for 2019 was set at $278,542,461, an increase of $5,773,484, or 2.1%, over 2018. Assessed value of real property increased by 0.8% while assessed value on personal property declined by 5.5%.
Real property includes land and real estate, and it includes the 4% increase in farmland values that the state set in January. Personal property includes business furniture, fixtures, equipment and inventory.
In a meeting at the end of June, supervisors granted exemptions to the ad valorem taxes for Milwaukee Tool and Viking Range. Milwaukee Tool was allowed to not pay ad valorem taxes on $2.09 million in equipment and inventory. Viking was allowed not pay taxes on $21.2 million in equipment and inventory. Both companies continue to pay school taxes and state taxes on the exempted amounts.
The assessed value makes up one part of the equation used by the county when figuring property taxes. The other half of the equation is the mills, or dollars per $1,000 in assessed valuation. Multiplied together, they determine the tax bill a property owner will pay to support governing bodies. The goal of the process is to generate the exact amount called for to meet the revenue targets set out in each governing body’s budget for the year.
•Contact Gavin Maliska at 581-7235 or gmaliska@gwcommonwealth.com.
