Residents receive assessment notices
Sticker shock:
Residents receive assessment notices
By STU MERRY
It’s like the children’s tale, Goldilocks and the Three Bears: Not too cold, not too hot … just right.
That’s how it is when it comes to finding the “just right” balance in property assessments. Some residents in McLean County received a surprise in their mail recently, telling them the assessed value of their property had increased.
It’s that “just right” balance that state officials want when it comes to property values in North Dakota.
North Dakota Century Code states that as property values change, either up or down, those changes must be reflected in an assessor’s estimated market value of property. Those properties must be between 95 and 100 percent of actual value.
County-wide, Garrison was hit the hardest. According to information from Land Use Administrator Todd Schreiner, Garrison had the most undervalued property in the county. About half of the property in Garrison (523 of 1,179 parcels) saw an increase averaging 12 percent. Some properties were even higher in an effort to reach that magical 95-100 percent window.
