Valuations stay low in flood-hit neighborhoods despite renovations; demolitions and more investment will change that, mayor and assessor say

CEDAR RAPIDS - Not everyone shows up at City Hall wanting to pay more property taxes.

Linda Seger has.

Seger, a leading voice for the city's community of flood survivors, has nicely renovated what had been her flood-damaged home at 1629 Eighth St. NW, yet the value of the house remains far below its value before the June 2008 flood.

Seger said she isn't alone among owners of renovated homes in the neighborhood who have questions about the city's latest property valuations, which went to property owners late last week.

“That's all they really have left, and now these homes are worth nothing,” she said on Thursday.

Seger said she doesn't mind paying higher property taxes that come with what said would be a true valuation of her home.

She said she suspected that the continued low valuation of her home might be related to her home's spot on the edge of possible construction zone for a new levee. And she said some in the neighborhood now wonder if the lower values will mean the city or the Army Corps of Engineers won't have to pay as much if they decide to force some people to sell their homes to make way for new levees and related infrastructure changes.

Seger first broached her concern at Tuesday evening's council meeting, and late Thursday afternoon, Mayor Ron Corbett and City Assessor Scott Labus were at Seger's house to discuss the matter with her.

Labus's office dropped values of properties in the city's flood-hit neighborhoods significantly a year ago, and he said Thursday that those values generally won't rise until houses begin to sell in the neighborhood and he has sale-price “facts” on which to base new valuations.

Labus noted that some homes across the street from Seger's remain boarded up and are slated for demolition. Those “economic deficiencies,” for now, are keeping the value of Seger's home down despite the renovations she has made to it, Labus explained.

As demolitions, renovations, sales and new construction occur, the value of Seger's home and other renovated homes will be headed up, he said.

He told Seger that some owners in the city's flood-hit neighborhoods have complained that their property values are still too high.

Mayor Corbett said the value of a home is often the greatest asset a person has, and people like Seger, who have put a lot of money and effort into their homes to fix them up, are understandably concerned about their property values, he said.

Corbett, though, predicted that the value of the whole neighborhood would head up over the next five years. He said that is why the City Council has pushed to direct some of the city's revenue from the local-option sales tax to fix up flood-damaged homes, both owner-occupied ones and those owned by landlords.

“The best thing for the neighborhood is to get the houses rehabilitated,” he said.

Seger's home and lot were valued at $97,800 before the flood and at $48,672 a year ago. The latest valuation is $45,240, according to city records she provided on Thursday.