I know there are many questions on Property Taxes since the Sedgwick County property valuation notices are hitting the mailboxes. This writing is an attempt to provide some useful information about the most despised tax and clarify some truths or straighten up some misunderstandings.
The county appraiser put out some information that summarizes the overall changes this year. He reported, of the 180,076 residential parcels in Sedgwick County, 88% of those parcels increased in value (the average increase was 7%), 3% of the parcels decreased in value (the average decrease was 4%), and 9% had no change to their appraised value. If you did not get a notice, that means your value did not change (or the letter was lost in the mail. You can check on the Appraiser website if you are concerned).
Please know, the County appraiser does not work for (or answer to) the county commissioners. Even though the county pays the salary for the staff in the Appraiser's office, they actually work for the State's Property Valuation Division (PVD), which is under the Kansas Department of Revenue (KDOR). The Appraiser's job and process is defined by the state, not the county.
If you want to get a better understanding of your property taxes, check out this useful tool called "My Local Taxes" where you can see your current property tax information in a graphical format in mills and dollars. You can also see a breakdown of that data by the various taxing jurisdictions (most of us pay between 4 and 7 different jurisdictions).
https://gismaps.sedgwickcounty.org/tax/parcelviewer/ Just enter your address in the search window (or expand the map and select a property). Once you click on a property, select the "Local Tax Report" for the graphical display. Notice the various taxing jurisdictions. One jurisdiction may reduce their mil levy while others increase theirs. It's good to know how the total breaks down.
If you did not get a valuation notice, it's likely your property did not change value. The appraiser's office only mails you a notification if your property changes in value. Nevertheless, you can still go look it up at the "My Local Taxes" link. Just click "Tax History" then the "Valuation Notice" tab.
For 2021, my residence's appraised value went up $6,700 (another 4% increase this year and a 23% increase since 2016). In reality, I think my property is worth more than what the appraiser thinks it is so in my case, it looks like the appraisal was reasonable. In fact, when I checked Zillow, they think my property is worth about $24K more than the appraiser does so I will not be making an appeal.
The appraiser is required to determine the "Fair Market Value" (what it would sell for if on the market today) within 90% to 110%. You should ask yourself, if you put your property on the market today, what would you ask for it? If you think your appraised value is outside that +/-10% range, you should make an appeal. https://www.sedgwickcounty.org/appraiser/appeals/
Here is a quick primer on how to calculate (residential) property taxes:
Appraised Value X 11.5% = Assessed Value
Assessed Value X mill levy = $ Property Tax
Example: $150,000 Appraised Value x 11.5% = $17,250 Assessed Value. $17,500 X 139.652 mills = $2,409
(Note: 139.652 mills in the calculation is 0.139652)
Again, residential properties are assessed at 11.5% of the appraised value. The assessed value percentage rate is different for other classifications: Commercial (25%), Vacant Lots (12%), Agricultural use (30%), etc.
Here is a few other interesting factoids to ponder:
Sedgwick Countywide Assessed Value in 2009 was $4,214,913,405. In 2021, the Assessed Value was $5,309,726,413. That's a 25.9% increase over those 12 years.
From 2009 to 2021, the National CPI-U (inflation factor) increased 29.9% over those 12 years.
From 2009 to 2021, the SgCo Mill Levy rate went from 30.377 Mills to 29.376 Mills which is a 3.3% reduction. That reduction means the county did not capture $5.5M last year that we would have levied if we had kept the same mill levy rate that we had in 2008.
Sedgwick County has the 3rd lowest mill levy rate among all Kansas Counties. The 2nd and 3rd places are extremely close to each other. 1st place goes to JoCo. To see this data, go to kansasopengov.org, click on counties, then select "mill levy history" and check out their other reports too.
Yearly, the appraiser's job performance is measured by summing the sales prices of every parcel that was sold in the previous year then divide that by the total appraised value of all those same properties. This is called the APPRAISAL/SALES RATIO STUDY. By law, this is supposed to be 100% +/-10%. Well, in 2021, the Appraisal/Sales Ratio Study came in at 84.7%, which interpreted means on average, the appraiser undervalued residential properties in Sedgwick County by 15.3%.
Other Useful Information: I testified as a legislator in favor of the Truth & Taxation law that passed in 2013. I also testified as a commissioner in favor of the Tax Lid both in 2015 when it passed as well as in 2016 when we had to do some cleanup on the law. I spoke in favor of SB13, another property tax transparency law that passed last year. This bill means we will have to send out notifications to each parcel owner alerting you to proposed increases in your tax burden as well as provide you the information on the required public hearing.
The pictures in this post are of my property tax info for my home. This is all public record so you can see that I am not exempt from the same things you are experiencing.
Email me or call me if you have questions or would like more detailed info: Jim.Howell@sedgwick.gov or 316-660-9300 or 316-788-4887.
