Linn County commercial, industrial property value up 17 percent

Linn County commercial and industrial property has been re-appraised for the first time in nearly 30 years, boosting some property tax assessments.

Overall, the value of commercial and industrial property in the county increased 17.23 percent, from $718,534,433 to $842,358,000, Chief Deputy Assessor Dave Ellis said.

Ellis said 64 percent of the increase was due to higher land values, with buildings accounting for just 5.5 percent. Land typically appreciates faster than buildings, he said.

The last countywide re-appraisal was in 1983, according to County Assessor Julie Kester.

The re-appraisal began in 2008 and included inspections of commercial and industrial property and reviews of sales and improvements. The process was reviewed by Vanguard Appraisals of Cedar Rapids, whose staff also checked the resulting assessment manual, Kester said.

Property owners have until May to challenge their new assessments, Kester said. The process begins with informal hearings with Vanguard and assessor's staff and can include a hearing before the county's board of review.

Properties were equalized every odd-numbered year since the last re-appraisal, but the long period since the last review meant those adjustments weren't keeping pace with increased land values, Ellis said.

"When you do just percentage adjustments every two years, things get really skewed and out of whack," he said."When you're putting a percentage on an overall number, you're not really bringing up your land appropriately."