Anthony l. Lesperance recently sent the following letter to Humboldt County Assessor Jeff Johnson, along with the Humboldt County Board of Commissioners and the Humboldt Sun.
Protesting assessed property valuation
Dear Mr. Johnson:
Yesterday, I received via USPS my Notice of Assessed Valuation for fiscal year 2012-2013 from your good office. This was not the Christmas present I was expecting to see!
My assessed total valuation is projected to increase by 6.5 percent for the coming tax year. I firmly believe that this projection is not realistic nor defensible. As a former county commissioner, I have a fair understanding of how assessed valuation is determined, including the many formulas and other factors that are used. I am also fully aware that in difficult times other factors can be employed, including common sense, to adjust appraised values to more realistic fit economic situations.
I realize that due to the escalated price of gold, that the overall economy in Humboldt County is good. However, that is a situation that is simply a local. It also is a situation that will exist only as long as the price of gold remains where it is. Gold has dropped before, many times, and just 20 years ago, it was at a fraction of where it is today.
Nevada, like the rest of the country is struggling through the worst of times, perhaps as significant as the Great Depression. We lead the nation in foreclosures, unemployment, etc. One does not have to venture far beyond the confines of Humboldt County to feel the full impact of our economic problems.
Your office informs me that instead of appraising by districts, which suggests that your valuation will be adjusted every five years, you adjusted all values across the board this year. I was told by your office that some properties were adjusted upwards far in excess of what our property was. The reasons given to me on structure cost were simply that your formulas clearly indicated that construction costs have increased, so consequently, my structure values must be adjusted accordingly.
I don't know if you have taken it on yourself to converse with construction firms outside of Humboldt County, but I suspect you might find a somewhat different story. I firmly believe that statewide, Nevada's construction industry is so depressed that no one is looking at a 6.7 percent increase, which is what our structures were increased.
I note that our land value also increased, some 9.1 percent. Most of our property consists of irrigated meadows, serviced by the melting snow pact from the adjacent mountains. Although this past year was a good year in regard to irrigation waters, this has generally not been the case over the past five years. In fact this property has only received any irrigation water in just two of the last five years. During three of those five years insufficient snow pack resulted no water reaching our fields. From a production standpoint, this has had very significant consequences.
The drought that we have been struggling with in recent years has also produced other less than desirable situations, including a very significant and destructive invasion of noxious weeds. Our weed control costs prior to 2007 averaged $4.94 an acre. For the past five years that cost has escalated to over $10 per acre, a 100 percent + increase. Yet somehow you deem it appropriate to increase the value of our land some 9.1 percent over just last year alone.
It is unquestionably time that the cost of government, at the national level, the state level, and yes, even the county level must be adjusted downward to correspond to what we face in this great nation of ours. It is what the current political mess is all about. It is what Nevada is currently going through and it would be what Humboldt would unquestionably face if there was a change in the price of gold, something that has already happened six or seven times in the history of Nevada.
We do not need increased taxes, we do not need to increase government salaries every year and we do not need more government. That is exactly what is killing this country. Our tax bill is probably an insignificant thing in the overall scheme of things. However, it is totally indicative of what all citizens face, more taxes, more government and less personnel take home pay. It is time for change, and that change must start at the local level.
I protest your assessed valuation for 2012-2013 of our property. It is not realistic of the times. It is not based on values that are defensible. It is simply wrong.
Yours,
Anthony l. Lesperance
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