Board of Equalization approves 55 valuation changes following under/over report

​YORK COUNTY – This week, during the York County Commissioners’ regular meeting, as the members sat as the board of equalization, they approved 55 valuation changes for different parcels throughout the county as York County Assessor Kurt Bulgrin presented his under/over report.

​As he explained, these changes were made after the property owners came to his office to present new information about their properties which otherwise had not been realized, as well as clarifications and the identification of errors.
When all was said and done, it cut $1,554,230 in total valuation in the county. While that is a substantial number, it is just a small percentage of the total valuation in the county which is in the billions.
Bulgrin presented the proposed changes which were then approved by the board of equalization.
The property owners of these individual properties will now be sent board notices of the changes. They will have 30 days to protest their valuations if they choose.
“Some of these changed because of new information, like corrections on numbers of acres or if a bin had been removed,” Bulgrin explained. “These changes can be handled this way without having to go through the protest process.”
“In looking at these, most of them went down,” said Commissioner Randy Obermier. “And there were a few which actually then went up.”
Also during the board of equalization, the commissioners approved a tax list correction which took a house off the tax rolls. This was because the owner informed the assessor’s office the house had been demolished.
The final point of action before the board of equalization was to hear valuation protests – the first to come before them during this protest season. For those who attended in person, they were sworn in by York County Clerk Mary Melby and Board of Equalization Chairman Daniel Grotz gave each the opportunity to explain why they felt their valuations should be adjusted.
One individual, who owns land with a house along South Lincoln Avenue in York, explained how his land value went from $25,000 to $56,000 and the house went from $142,000 to $192,000. “My residential property is now zoned commercial, it is an extremely unique house and the land cannot be farmed. I could understand a 3% increase but not this big of an increase.”
Commissioner Randy Obermier asked Bulgrin if the commercial zoning had anything to do with the jump in valuation and Bulgrin said no, it didn’t, as he considered it to be a residential property in the valuation process.
Obermier asked the owner to provide values of comparable properties, in order for the board to determine if this particular value is not equal with similar properties. This protest, along with all others, will be reviewed by Bulgrin with a recommendation to come to the board of equalization which will then make a decision. That decision will be sent to the property owners and they still have the ability to appeal with the state’s Tax Equalization Review Commission (TERC) if they choose.
“This board equalizes, we do not set the values,” Obermier added, as did Grotz.
A property owner in Bradshaw said his land value went up 300%, “although I didn’t do anything to increase the land value except adding five feet on one side.”
When asked if he had any comparables, he told the board, “Well, my next door neighbor is a junk yard. Other people I’ve talked to in town said their valuations doubled, but mine tripled.”
Another individual in York protested his value, but when it was discovered his property was actually on the under/over list, he was asked to review his updated valuation and then file another protest if he wants to.
Property owners have until the end of June to file their protests. The protests are filed with the county clerk’s office, but Bulgrin encourages those with questions or concerns to contact his office first as new information and clarification could make a difference as to whether a formal protest will be necessary.
Bulgrin noted a lot of property owners have already come to his office to talk about their valuations, “and after conversations, most didn’t file protests. Again, I ask property owners to reach out with questions.”