110 percent buyouts are above market value

When I heard that Linn County was offering 110 percent of pre-flood assessed value for buyouts and Cedar Rapids was offering only 100 percent, I called the head of the State Property Tax Division, Dale Hyman. He told me that at the time of the flood, Cedar Rapids assessed values were close to 97 percent of market value and Linn County assessed values were 95 percent.

Iowa has a law that the assessed values must be adjusted each year toward a goal of a minimum of 95 percent.

In order for the buyouts to be at 120 percent in Waterloo, assessed values there would have to have been only 83 percent of market value, way below the legal minimum.

In Linn County, with the assessed value at 95 percent, in order to find the market value, one has to multiply the 95 percent by 105 percent. At 110 percent, Linn County is paying 5 percent over market value.

Cedar Rapids City Assessor Scott Labus told me that the assessed values in the city were closer to 98 percent at the time of the flood. Thus, one has to multiply 98 percent by 102 percent to get a 100 percent market value.

Whoever told Linn County that it could pay 110 percent is the person that Cedar Rapids' city government should have wanted to talk to long ago.

Clark Rieke

Cedar Rapids