Valuation corrections on 51 parcels result in $3 million decrease

​YORK – This past week, York County Assessor Kurt Bulgrin presented his under/over report to the York County Commissioners, who were sitting as the board of equalization – following conversations he and his staff had with 51 property owners, corrections made to their valuations resulted in a $3 million decrease.

​There were many reasons for the corrections, as the assessor’s office had received new information and clarification about the properties – such as number of bathrooms, grade of bins, garage condition, lack of fireplace, removal of garage, removal of bin, corrected square feet, corrected age of buildings, status of basement finish, the change of commercial status to agricultural, removal of driveway, etc.
This week, upon the board’s approval, the valuation decrease regarding these parcels totaled $2,969,263.
During the board’s prior meeting, they agreed to the assessor’s recommendation of correcting 55, resulting in a total valuation decrease of $1,554,2330.
“These changes can be made this way without them having to go through protest hearings,” Bulgrin said.
Meanwhile, protest hearings continue to be held. The commissioners heard from property owners from all over the county who are arguing their valuations are too high. Some said there are no comparable sales to consider because there haven’t been any residential sales in their towns in the last year – they were reminded they can also provide values for properties which aren’t up for sale being sold, to be used as comparables, if arguing their value is too high and not equal. One individual said a correction needed to be made regarding a building on his property – he said it was listed as being built in 2017 but he thinks it was likely constructed 80-90 years ago. There were also questions about why land values vary between the different municipalities.
It was also noted how property owners have until 5 p.m., Monday, June 30, to file a valuation protest for this year. While the valuation protests are filed with the county clerk’s office, property owners are encouraged to contact the assessor’s office first if they have questions.