LUSK The Niobrara County Assessor’s office will be mailing the 2023 property assessment schedules on March 29, 2023.

According to Niobrara County Assessor, Teri Stephens, property is assessed/taxed to the owner of record as of January 1st. You may see an “ATTN: TO” line if the property changed ownership AFTER January 1st, this is an effort on our part to get the assessment and tax bill to the most current owner while still meeting our statutory requirement. The Notice of Value is not a tax bill. This notice is an estimate of the 2023 tax bill that will be coming from the Treasurer’s Office in September, and a request to provide additional information such that a full, complete and detailed statement of all taxable property owned by or in the control of the property owner and that assessment, may be made. The calculation uses the current value with the prior year’s mill levy. The Niobrara County Commissioners set mill levies in August, so we are using the best information available to do this calculation.

Property is valued for tax purposes following Mass Appraisal standards set by the International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO) and statutory and rule requirements of the Wyoming Department of Revenue and the Wyoming State Board of Equalization. Mass Appraisal values a large number of similar properties in a uniform manner. We are required to use standard cost values adjusted for our area to calculate replacement cost new (RCN) for any structures/improvements. We then take RCN, depreciate that value and then trend for sales and then add in the land value.

As we are all aware, the costs for building materials were very high the last 2 years and since we are using cost to value property, in addition to sales, replacement cost new (RCN) did increase again in 2023, in Residential properties with an average of 23% and after applying trended sales brought the overall average increase to 12%. Commercial properties averaging anywhere from 10% to 28% according to the built-as.

Agricultural land is valued on the land’s current use and the capability of the land to produce agricultural products under normal conditions. A range of values is determined by the Department of Revenue and each Assessor is required to select a value within those ranges for each productivity category present in his or her county.  A handout copy of the 2023 Niobrara County Ag Land Valuation Study is available for your review in our office.

There are four steps that the DOR uses to determine the value ranges of agricultural land:

• Determine Prices of Agricultural Products. This information is derived from the Wyoming Agricultural Statistics Service's commodity price data. This information, which consists of all hay, all wheat and grazing prices, is converted to a five (5) year weighted average.

• Capitalization Rate Selection. This rate is based on the Farm Credit Services of Omaha Long Term Portfolio rates, which are also converted to a five (5) year weighted average.

• Determine Net Income. To determine the net income, the unit price of each of the 3 commodities is multiplied times the production per acre. Next, the landlord share is determined, if applicable, then the expenses and production losses are deducted to establish a net income to the landlord.

• Capitalize Net Income. The final step in the process is capitalizing the net income.

Property owners should review the amount noted as “Total Valuation Used to Calculate Tax”, and determine if it is the approximate value of their property if sold January 1, 2023. If they agree with the value, owners are not required to respond. 

Property owners have the right to appeal the market value stated on their assessment schedule; however, this must be done within 30 days after the postmark on the assessment schedule. For 2023, the deadline is April 28th, 2023.  Upon request, staff will review the characteristic information for the property with the owner to ensure the information is accurate. During this review, the property owner should provide any information they would like to have considered; an appraisal, market analysis, special conditions or influences they feel may affect the property value.

We look forward to answering any questions you may have on your Notice of Value.

Ms. Stephens reminds Wyoming Veterans and widows of Veterans, the deadline for applying for their property exemption is the 4th Monday in May, which is May 22rd 2023.  If discharge papers and information necessary to qualify for the exemption have previously been provided, notification may be done by calling the office.