Story Created:
Mar 9, 2011 at 3:25 PM AKDT
Story Updated:
Mar 9, 2011 at 3:53 PM AKDT
Inconsistent property values served as the main topic for discussion at the Anchorage Assembly meeting Tuesday evening.
With green cards in hand, property owners showed how much their land and homes are worth. And for tax purposes, questions are being raised about how the city comes up with those values.
One testifying resident said he and others in his neighborhood saw a real increase in their property values with the latest round of green cards.
That prompted him to look up other land assessments, which uncovered inconsistencies from neighborhood to neighborhood which he claims are unfair.
“What's going on? How come the assessor's office targets a particular piece of property or group of properties and increase them $80,000, $96,000, or $100,000 on a particular piece of property on the land?” said Turnagain resident Jerry Trainor.
To illustrate his point, Trainor surprised the Anchorage Assembly members when he rattled off their property values noting that Anchorage Assemblyman Bill Starr's property was worth $1.69 per square foot while the property of Anchorage Assemblyman Patrick Flynn was assessed at $28.65 per square foot.
The testimony has assembly members now looking for answers as well.
“There are all sorts of things that come into play, but clearly, there’s some stark differences here and I’m sure there is an explanation and I would be curious to find that out too,” said Anchorage Assemblyman Paul Honeman.
Assembly Chair Dick Traini scheduled a work session with the Municipal Assessor office to investigate the inconsistencies.
The Anchorage Assembly will determine the property tax rate in April.
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akbandit said on Tuesday, Jun 14 at 2:39 PM
I bought a foreclosure in need of serious repairs. The assessment was higher than all the surrounding homes, all newer and in nicer condition. When I (successfully, in the end) protested it, I was told the assessment is not based on the home's condition. WTF??? The new scam by the assessor is to raise ALL the values in one subdivision. Then they say it's based on 'comparable values'. What a crock of sh*t!
68981678Guest said on Thursday, Mar 10 at 6:14 PM
Something wrong here. Oil companies get tax reductions, our property tax goes up. The city pays $200,000.00 for each patrol officer, but cuts our teachers. We have no snow, yet they get paid to plow anyway. Our politicians have nice driveways, but our streets are gravel. We are not driving this ship anymore folks. Take a clue from Wisconsin. If we do not defeat organized crime, it will defeat us.
62490462Luke said on Thursday, Mar 10 at 8:58 AM
The bottom line is that there are two values, one value of your property is based on what the city needs back in tax dollars, the other value (i.e. the real value) is what someone is willing to pay for the property. Why are people surprised that their property values keep rising above what they can sell it for? The city needs money in order to run what they efficiently, if you don't believe it, just ask your legislator, police officer, fireman, or any other city employee.
62439711Nanuk said on Wednesday, Mar 9 at 3:42 PM
I have a friend who lives on KGB Road (Wasilla) and the tax assessor told her they added $75,000 to her valuation and ALL who have a VIEW this year!
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