Fair Share Assessor LogoDouglas County Assessor

 
News, Views, & Values

2009 In Review 
In This Issue
Our 2009 Accomplishments
Valuation and Taxation Myths
Ask the Assessor
Quick Links
 
 
Join Our Mailing List
 
Roger F. Morrissey Douglas County Assessor
Roger F. Morrissey, Douglas County Assessor
 Our 2009 Accomplishments
Welcome to our second newsletter. A lot of things happened during 2009 and we'll highlight them here. Most notable is that the real estate market stayed flat again in 2009. A few neighborhoods showed some appreciation and will require us to raise those values to keep within State guidelines. However, other neighborhoods have shown a slight decline in value and will require us to lower values to meet the same guidelines. In a majority of the neighborhoods, values remained steady and will not require value changes.  We will discuss this in more detail in our next newsletter.
 
 
Graph of Douglas County Home Sales from 2006 through 2009 

Our 2009 Accomplishments

 
 Real Property
   The Assessor reviewed 208,000 parcels in 2009 and made 31,013 value changes. There were 21,340 residential changes and 14,509 (68%) of these were decreases. The remaining neighborhoods were within the State's acceptable assessment/sales ratio of 92-100%. Douglas County valuation (Real and Personal) of $36,018,422,935 for 2009 is almost 25% of the total value in the State of Nebraska. Taxes levied in 2009 were $464,194,036. The 2010 value changes will be reported in the next newsletter.
 
Personal Property
    Business Personal Property is subject to personal property tax in Nebraska. It is self reporting by the business. There were 14,932 personal property accounts in 2009. The total value of reported property was $1,651,887,393, which is a 13% increase over the previous (2008) tax year.
    In 2009, businesses could complete their personal property returns online at www.dcassessor.org for the first time. Also, returns were scanned into PDF format so they can be easily retrieved electronically.
     Remember, the deadline for filing your 2010 personal property return is May 1, 2010.
 
Homestead Exemption
     The Nebraska Homestead Exemption program is a property tax relief program for three categories of homeowners:
  • Persons over age 65
  • Certain disabled individuals
  • Certain totally (100%) disabled wartime veterans and their widows(ers)
    The total number of homestead exemptions in 2009 was 9836, up 4.25% from the previous year (2008). This exemption saved qualified homeowners $18,683,816 in property taxes for the year. Last year volunteers (Volunteers Assisting Seniors, or VAS) assisted 1,624 homesteaders in filling out their paperwork at 20 help sites throughout the county.
     Remember, the deadline for filing your 2010 homestead exemption is June 30, 2010.
 
GIS Mapping
     To assess real estate correctly, the Assessor keeps complete maps of all property in Douglas County. These maps are updated regularly to show changes in parcel boundaries or other physical characteristics. Each parcel is assigned a unique parcel identification number that links all records containing data on that parcel.
    The GIS (Geographic Information System) section ensures that all parcels of property are identified and listed for property tax purposes. It also ensures that no parcel is taxed more than once, and that necessary information for fair and equitable assessment is available to the appraisal staff.
    All parcel splits, parcel combinations, new subdivisions, new condominium regimes, new tax increment financing (TIF) projects, and new sanitary improvement districts (SIDs) were completed and mapped for 2009.
 
Phone System
     The Assessor's office implemented a new phone system in 2009 that serves the public better. Each call starts with a recording of general office information (location, hours of operation), and a further recording directs incoming calls to the following sections:
  1. Homestead Exemption
  2. Business Personal Property
  3. GIS Mapping
  4. Records
  5. Greenbelt
  6. Customer Service/Permissive exemptions/real estate valuations
During our busy periods, the system gives an estimated wait time for the caller. 
 
Web Site
     Our website www.dcassessor.org provides a useful resource for practical information about property values and the assessment process. Comparable sales data and maps are easily accessible. You can also find answers to a myriad of questions about the programs and services the Douglas County Assessor administers. Our site is one of the most popular and viewed sites in Nebraska government. Look for an even better site in the Spring of 2010.

Valuation and Taxation Myths

My value shouldn't change if I don't do anything to improve my property"
 Nebraska law requires that nonagricultural property be valued at its actual or market value.  Actual value is defined as what a knowledgeable and willing buyer would pay a knowledgeable willing seller for the property in an arm's-length transaction.  The houses in a neighborhood can increase in value when the prices paid for houses in those arm's-length transactions increase over time.  When prices are increasing in a neighborhood, it generally affects the value of all of the houses in the neighborhood because the likelihood is that they would generate a higher purchase price, even those that are not for sale or in which no major improvements have been made.

Ask The Assessor

"How does the Assessor's Office arrive at the value of my house?"
    The value of your house is based on the recent sales of properties with similar characteristics (age, square footage and type of construction) in your neighborhood. The Assessor does not create value; buyers and sellers create value in the market place. The Assessor uses that information to place a fair value on each property. The role of determining the amount of taxes to be paid as a result of that value is the responsibility of the various taxing authorities through setting their budgets and the tax rate to be applied to the values of the property.