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Tax protest draws crowd in Harrison
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| About 100 residents of Sioux County showed up to voice their concern over recent tax increases on grazing land. The TEA (Tax Enough Already) Party protest was organized by rancher Jim Voeller. Photo by Roger Holsinger |
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By: ROGER HOLSINGER, Assistant Editor
HARRISON — Nearly 100 residents of Sioux County gathered near the Sioux County Courthouse Wednesday, saying they were tired of increases in state spending.
Jim Voeller, who organized the TEA (Tax Enough Already) Party protest, said that he’s been concerned about the increase in property taxes for years, and this year, the taxes on grazing land increased 17 to 20 percent. When Voeller approached the county to ask why the taxes increased, he was given a form to fill out to protest the increase.
“They told me, ‘If you don’t think we’re right, then you need to prove us wrong,’ so I called the local appraiser and he said he couldn’t appraise the land because there was no comparables. That lit the candle. I said that if there were no comparables, then how can the county raise ours?”
“He said they were using past years … using sales from 2005. So I got on the Internet and pulled up the Department of Revenue’s regulations and read them through and went to the courthouse to see if they were following the rules and regulations.”
Voeller said he was told there was no one who could explain the process of how the land is assessed, and whathe found was that land was being assessed by what he called “influenced” valuations, meaning that some valuations were based on what the property was sold for, but at a much higher price than what other land had sold for, thus inflating the price for other land in the same area.
“I’ve seen them use the same piece of land (for valuations) twice. It was sold and then sold again about five months later.”
Voeller has lived in Sioux County for about 15 years and has bison, cattle and horses on a portion of his 1,500 acres. He said he also has land in Utah and Wyoming.
“I hope to get the county to change their system,” he said.
In addition to grazing land, he said he’d like to see the way burned timber areas are assessed because now those hard-to-reach areas are being assessed the same way as grassland. He said he would like to see the assessments done based on what the land is being used for instead of its market value.
“My hope is that what we’re doing would snowball to the other counties and go clear across the state,” he said.
“You know you call the governor and he says it’s a county problem, you talk to the county and they say it’s a state problem. Well, they’ve both got a problem … you can’t get anything done in Washington D.C., but maybe we can get something done here,” as he pointed to the courthouse.
Voeller was not alone. More than 50 other residents had picked up protest forms, which needed to be completed and turned in by June 30.
Hunter Penn, who lives about 10 miles north of Henry in Sioux County, said he attended the event for two reasons. The first was to voice his concern about how grassland is assessed in the state and that as a citizen, everyone has the right to ask the government to be accountable.
“I love living in Sioux County and I don’t mind paying taxes as long as it’s fair,” he said.
Gary Fisher, a former Dawes County commissioner living in Chadron, said what brought him to Harrison was that he is seeing the same type of assessments done in surrounding counties. He said the state “needs to get a hold of its spending.”
While federal stimulus money will provide some relief for the next two years, he wonders, “what happens after the reserves and stimulus is gone?”
“It will be passed on to the property owner, and that’s why we need to look real hard and long at state spending. There is too much government for the number of people we have in this state,” Fisher said.
Just an earshot away from the protest was Sioux County Assessor Michelle Zimmerman, who is serving her first year in the position, but who has worked in the office for a number of years.
Zimmerman said the number of protests her office received this year was about the same as in previous years. She said she hopes that people will realize that the county office is just complying with state law and that the event would be just as much as an educational event as a protest.
She said rangeland must be assessed at 69 to 75 percent of market value, while residential property is assessed between 92 and 100 percent of its market value. She noted that state mandate appears to be what has upset property owners in the county.
Jim Voeller, who organized the TEA (Tax Enough Already) Party protest, said that he’s been concerned about the increase in property taxes for years, and this year, the taxes on grazing land increased 17 to 20 percent. When Voeller approached the county to ask why the taxes increased, he was given a form to fill out to protest the increase.
“They told me, ‘If you don’t think we’re right, then you need to prove us wrong,’ so I called the local appraiser and he said he couldn’t appraise the land because there was no comparables. That lit the candle. I said that if there were no comparables, then how can the county raise ours?”
“He said they were using past years … using sales from 2005. So I got on the Internet and pulled up the Department of Revenue’s regulations and read them through and went to the courthouse to see if they were following the rules and regulations.”
Voeller said he was told there was no one who could explain the process of how the land is assessed, and whathe found was that land was being assessed by what he called “influenced” valuations, meaning that some valuations were based on what the property was sold for, but at a much higher price than what other land had sold for, thus inflating the price for other land in the same area.
“I’ve seen them use the same piece of land (for valuations) twice. It was sold and then sold again about five months later.”
Voeller has lived in Sioux County for about 15 years and has bison, cattle and horses on a portion of his 1,500 acres. He said he also has land in Utah and Wyoming.
“I hope to get the county to change their system,” he said.
In addition to grazing land, he said he’d like to see the way burned timber areas are assessed because now those hard-to-reach areas are being assessed the same way as grassland. He said he would like to see the assessments done based on what the land is being used for instead of its market value.
“My hope is that what we’re doing would snowball to the other counties and go clear across the state,” he said.
“You know you call the governor and he says it’s a county problem, you talk to the county and they say it’s a state problem. Well, they’ve both got a problem … you can’t get anything done in Washington D.C., but maybe we can get something done here,” as he pointed to the courthouse.
Voeller was not alone. More than 50 other residents had picked up protest forms, which needed to be completed and turned in by June 30.
Hunter Penn, who lives about 10 miles north of Henry in Sioux County, said he attended the event for two reasons. The first was to voice his concern about how grassland is assessed in the state and that as a citizen, everyone has the right to ask the government to be accountable.
“I love living in Sioux County and I don’t mind paying taxes as long as it’s fair,” he said.
Gary Fisher, a former Dawes County commissioner living in Chadron, said what brought him to Harrison was that he is seeing the same type of assessments done in surrounding counties. He said the state “needs to get a hold of its spending.”
While federal stimulus money will provide some relief for the next two years, he wonders, “what happens after the reserves and stimulus is gone?”
“It will be passed on to the property owner, and that’s why we need to look real hard and long at state spending. There is too much government for the number of people we have in this state,” Fisher said.
Just an earshot away from the protest was Sioux County Assessor Michelle Zimmerman, who is serving her first year in the position, but who has worked in the office for a number of years.
Zimmerman said the number of protests her office received this year was about the same as in previous years. She said she hopes that people will realize that the county office is just complying with state law and that the event would be just as much as an educational event as a protest.
She said rangeland must be assessed at 69 to 75 percent of market value, while residential property is assessed between 92 and 100 percent of its market value. She noted that state mandate appears to be what has upset property owners in the county.
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