Jun 20, 2002 By Steve Ostrosky 4 min read

WAYNESBURG – The next phase of the Greene County property reassessment will begin today, when the county commissioners are expected to approve the 2003 assessment roll, an action that would start the mailing of final market values to all property owners within the next week. Chief assessor H. John Frazier discussed the estimated values for all county property during the commissioners’ Wednesday morning agenda meeting. Those values will go into effect for the 2003 taxing year, which will begin Jan. 1 for the county and municipalities and July 1, 2003, for school districts.

After the reassessment, the estimated value of all surface and mineral property has increased to $1.53 billion, Frazier said. Surface real estate market values jumped from $791 million to $1.1 billion, while mineral market values rose from $251 million to $453 million.

Frazier said the most striking of numbers is the difference in just seven years in the amount of total county revenue generated by coal. In 1995, 47 percent of the county’s revenue came from coal, while in 2002, that number was cut to just 24 percent.

In the 2003 values, Frazier said, 30 percent of the county’s revenue will come from minerals. While that number reflects a slight increase, commissioners Farley Toothman and Scott A. Blair, along with chief clerk Gene Lee, were astounded by how quickly coal is being mined in the county.

“What else do we need to show us about our depleting tax base?” Toothman said.

Frazier also broke down values by school district, showing the increases in market value and estimating new millage rates based on the change in assessment ratio.

Because the county is increasing assessed value to 100 percent of market value from the previous ratio of 30 percent, millage rates must be cut by about two-thirds to ensure that the reassessment keeps the revenue of the taxing bodies as neutral as possible, he said.

Carmichaels Area School District will see an increase in market value from $114 million to $172 million, according to Frazier’s estimates. The tax rate would drop from 78 to 16 mills, while 95 percent of the value generated for the district comes from surface real estate.

Central Greene School District saw the biggest increase in market value, from $380 million to $566 million. Though the district has yet to approve a 2002-2003 budget, Frazier said the proposed new tax rate of 88 mills was used to determine that the rate will lower to 18 mills. Central Greene’s revenue went from 77 to 71 percent from real estate and from 23 to 29 percent generated from mineral resources.

Jefferson-Morgan School District’s market value went up from $109 million to $165 million, though the amount of revenue generated will come more from real estate and less from minerals. Real estate now makes up 94 percent of the district’s revenue and mineral resources comprise 6 percent. Based on the district’s tax rate of 89.6 mills, the new 2003 rate would be about 18 mills.

Frazier said that when Southeastern Greene School District’s market values were compiled, only $20 million was placed on Hatfield’s Ferry Power Station until the court makes a ruling on the taxability of water intake structures, smokestacks and cooling towers at the site.

Market values in Southeastern Greene will increase from $150 million to $180 million, causing a tax rate decrease from 91 mills to 23 mills. Revenue generated by real estate will decrease slightly, from 97 percent to 96 percent, while mineral revenue will increase from 3 to 4 percent.

West Greene School District saw a market value increase from $330 million to $451 million, with just slight changes in the amount of revenue generated by real estate and mineral resources. Real estate revenue climbed from 41 to 42 percent of total market value, while mineral resource revenue fell from 59 to 58 percent. Based on a tax rate of 63 mills, Frazier said, the millage would fall to 14 mills using the 2003 assessment ratio.

Frazier said that once the commissioners approve the values, the assessment office will begin sending valuation letters next week, and property owners will then have 30 days from the date of mailing to file a formal appeal with the Board of Assessment Appeals.

He said that since the preliminary values were sent out earlier this year, his staff has met with about 2,000 property owners to discuss how values were derived and to make corrections to property information. Most people who came in were very patient and understanding once they had a chance to meet with Frazier or another member of the team, he said.

“Most people think we have gotten it pretty right, and a vast majority understood where we were coming from,” he said. “I didn’t have any arguments, and everything went smoother than I had anticipated.”

Frazier said the county will know next month how many auxiliary appeals boards must be formed to hear all assessment appeals by the end of October. The reassessment process must be completed by Nov. 15, with the certification of all values by the board of assessment appeals and all taxing bodies of the county.