$64,000 valuation figure stands

On Tuesday, Sarpy County Assessor Dan Pittman stood his ground.

He refused to back off his recent decision to increase from several thousand dollars to $64,000 the valuations of the first acre of land under about 800 rural homes.

Pittman told the County Board his numbers are “fair and accurate for rural acres.”

Board member Rich Jansen of rural Gretna asked his colleagues to overrule Pittman's decision. He pushed the County Board to adopt a resolution reducing the valuation to $20,000 for that first acre of land.

About 120 audience members — most of them rural landowners — listened for someone to second Jansen's motion, a step required to force a full vote. But instead, the packed room grew silent. None of Jansen's colleagues came to his support.

His measure died. And audience members grumbled.

County Board Chairwoman Joni Jones encouraged them to fill out a protest form. As the crowd's complaints grew louder, Jones defended the board's decision not to overrule Pittman, a fellow elected official.

She said her board did not have supporting data to justify overturning Pittman's recommendations.

“There is just no way we can sit as a board and pull a number out of a hat,” Jones said. “I can't arbitrarily pull a number out of a hat or do a feel-good type of thing. ... There has to be a rhyme and reason.”

This year, the Sarpy County Assessor's Office increased the valuations of the acre of land under about 800 rural homes. That's in addition to the valuation of the homes themselves, which are valued separately. Pittman has said the valuation increase was needed because land used similarly was selling for higher amounts.

Valuations in nearby counties for the land called “first acres” range from $20,000 in Douglas County to up to $110,000 in Lancaster County.

Acreages — homes built on several acres of land — have gained in popularity near Omaha over the past decade. Douglas, Washington, Saunders, Dodge, Cass and Lancaster Counties have valued the land under such farmhouses at higher figures. And Pittman's office had not revalued farmhouse sites for several years.

Papillion attorney Patrick Sullivan spoke on behalf of dozens of rural landowners, calling the $64,000 assessment unfair and pushing for the $20,000 compromise.

After Jansen's resolution died, the board member urged those in the crowd to take their concerns to the State Capitol.

“Talk to your legislators,” Jansen told them.

Sullivan predicted that Sarpy County would probably face hundreds of property tax protests, each of which would have to be resolved individually.

He said affected rural landowners could expect to pay an additional $900 per year in property taxes unless they prevail in individual protests.

Contact the writer:

444-1056, john.ferak@owh.com