Ada County Assessor wants homeowners to respond to a survey. Will doing so cost you?
If you’re a homeowner in Ada County, you may get a postcard from the county assessor asking you to share information about your property. Your gut reaction may be, “Wouldn’t this cause my property taxes to spike?”
The Assessor’s Office, tasked with assigning the correct value to your house, says it’s been sending out thousands of these postcards for more than three years. But Erin Brady said responding can work to your advantage and help the county in the process.
Brady is manager of the County Assessor Robert McQuade’s Appraisal Division. They’re the folks tasked with assigning the correct value properties across the county.
On the postcard, a short message from McQuade invites homeowners to respond to an online survey in which owners are asked to verify such characteristics as square footage or number of rooms. The county has sent 11,400 postcards this year, Brady said.
Brady said the postcards simply help expedite the process of ensuring that roughly 180,000 properties in the county are fairly and equitably valued.
“We’re not looking for information so that we can stick it to you,” Brady said.
The postcard program is now in its fourth year, and Brady said the office has gradually increased the number of postcards they send out yearly.
It helps assist an office with 30 full-time appraisers working to manage the load. Residential appraisers cover about 8,500 parcels each, Brady said. The office still has to send out postcards for 130,000 parcels, a process that could take several appraisal cycles, with a few thousand postcards distributed each time. State law requires properties to be physically inspected every five years.
“It just comes down to resources and logistics and not having the manpower,” she said.
Response rates to the program have been historically low. Brady said only 25% of those who receive postcards ever submit a response, although that number may increase in future years.
There’s a common misconception, she said, that Ada County is using the surveys to boost valuations and property taxes on residents. She said the goal is just to ensure the information is accurate.
Asked if residents often misstate characteristics about their properties, Brady said the office is usually aware of discrepancies long before a survey is submitted.
“If somebody submits a dishonest response, we generally already have a pretty good idea of what the property’s true characteristics are,” she said.
They do send appraisers to look at properties, after all. And anyone viewing Google Earth can see that outbuilding you added last year.
What if you lie? Will you face prosecution?
There is no enforcement or penalty for putting false information on the survey, Brady said. But in the instance of a dishonest response, the office can request to inspect the property.
Property taxes have been on the rise in Ada County. In 2021, property tax assessments increased by about 25%, as a high demand for homes persisted amid limited supply. Brady said it’s still unclear how valuations will look in 2022, but they will likely increase again.
Property owners have one more month to respond to the survey. The postcards include information for owners on how to log on to the assessor’s website. Once on the website, owners are shown the information about their property and are asked if the information is accurate.
“We just want to make sure that we have clean records,” Brady said. “This is the most efficient way we can get confirmation of that.”
This story was originally published November 8, 2021 at 4:00 AM.
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