Dorchester Times: Paying More Than Your Fair Share Of Property Taxes? Protest!

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Paying More Than Your Fair Share Of Property Taxes? Protest!

Without a doubt, property taxes are the most despised tax in Nebraska -- even though most who aren't on the farm pay more in state income taxes or even sales tax, depending on the year's purchases. However, unlike the income tax, you're not completely helpless when it comes to property taxes.

In fact, you can dispute your property tax valuations if you feel they have been raised unjustly.

Here in Saline County, property valuation protests can be filed with the Saline County Clerk on Form 422, along with a protest letter. The Form 422, when completed, must be filed with the County board of Equalization at the office of the County Clerk in order for it to be accepted. Also, a protest letter must be provided to the clerk's office.

For real property, protests must be filed on or before June 30. The requested valuation of the property must be stated along with the basis for the request. Failure to state the reasons for the requested valuation will mean your protest gets dismissed. Also, the legal description of the property and the value of the land and buildings must be included.

For personal property, protests must be filed on or before May 1. The taxpayer may provide a copy of the most recent federal depreciation worksheet or any other supporting documents as evidence of the requested change in value. If additional space is needed, attach additional sheets to each copy of the Form 422.

The form 422 may also be used when the county assessor notifies a taxpayer of an additional assessment, the failure to file a personal property return, or the imposition of a penalty. The taxpayer has thirty days from the date the notification was mailed to protest the action of the assessor.

The person protesting the assessed valuation will be notified by the county clerk of the place and time for the hearing on the protest. At this hearing, evidence may be submitted and witnesses may be presented. Within seven days after the final decision, the clerk shall notify the protester of the action taken by the board.

If you don't like the answer you get from county officials, protesters can appeal to the state's Tax Equalization and Review Commission within 30 days after adjournment of the county board of equalization.

3 comments:

AnonymousNovember 20, 2014 at 4:10 PM
Yes, you are correct, it is tax time. However it is too late to appeal the valuations for 2014. So, the tax statements that will be sent out in the next few weeks or so are set. The time to actually file property valuation protests are between June 1 and June 30 of each year. You also are only allowed to appeal the current year's valuations, NOT the taxes.
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Village DwellerNovember 20, 2014 at 6:19 PM
Dear Anonymous:

We fully understand both of your points and we appreciate your clarification on the dates for valuation protests.

Thank you for reading the Times.

-Dorchester Times Staff
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Dorchester: A Good Little Family Town

Dorchester, Nebraska (est. population 630) is located in northern Saline county. Close in proximity to Interstate 80, Dorchester is only 25 minutes from the state capital of Lincoln (est. population 250,000) and about 55 minutes from Omaha (metro population 725,000).

Dorchester's median resident age is 37 years. In 2005, Dorchester had a median family income of approximately $35,600. The median house value was about $63,000. About 95 percent of Dorchester residents commute to work via Interstate and highways.

The village has a quality public school, which received a $4.1 million expansion and modernization in 2008; it offers a small classrooms and individualized attention. Total enrollment of grades K-12 is around 230-250 students.

Ancestries of the Dorchester area are primarily German (42.4%), Czech (24.9%), Irish (12.5%), English (5.4%), and Dutch (4.9%).

Dorchester Historical Facts

* On July 4, 1871, the railroad reached Dorchester.
* Incorporated in 1881, Dorchester's population grew from 200 to 500 by 1882.
* In 1882, Dorchester had 90 buildings, 35 of which were businesses or public facilities. Brick buildings lined both sides of Washington Avenue for two blocks.
* Dorchester's longest-running newspaper was The Dorchester Star, which was published until the late 1940s.
* By 1889, Dorchester's population is said to have reached 800, while the town housed an opera house, a two-story brick schoolhouse with a bell tower, and four churches.
* By the 1910s, Dorchester had electricity, a water tower and a fire department.
* Dorchester's main arteries, Highways 6 and 33, were graveled in the 1940s.
* Dorchester's first irrigation well was drilled on Chris Weber's farm and rural electrification was finished following WWII.

A Village with History

Dorchester is one of the "alphabet towns" on the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad line built west from Lincoln. The town site was selected for its pleasant location in the northern part of Saline County, about eight miles west of Crete. This situation is an attractive one, being on the level prairie land, midway between the West Blue River and Turkey Creek. The first named stream is three miles north, and the latter about the same distance south from the town. Dorchester was platted in 1870 and incorporated in 1881. The name "Dorchester" came from either for a suburb of Boston by that name or a town in England. No one is sure. Two of the very first settlers were James Seely and Edward McIntyre, who both made Dorchester their permanent home.

Dorchester: In The Beginning

Here is a look at Dorchester around 1890, less than a decade after its official incorporation, as documented by Andreas' History of the State of Nebraska:
* POPULATION: "About 300, and is made up of a substantial and progressive class of citizens, who are moral and industrious. ... The town grew but very little until the year 1879, for the reason that Pleasant Hill, on Turkey Creek, a short distance south, was the county seat and naturally drew a trade for quite a large scope of country."
* BUSINESS: "The business and professional interests of the town are represented by three general merchandise stores, two drug, one grocery, one furniture, two hardware, and two millinery stores, one bank, two restaurants, two hotels, three livery stables, a post office, one newspaper office, two elevators, two lumber yards, two coal yards, two blacksmith shops, two lawyers and four physicians."
* SCHOOL: "The schoolhouse is a good one. The schoolhouse was built in 1872, since which time the public schools have been continually kept up. The present schoolhouse is 24' x 40' in size, two stories high. The school is graded and consists of three departments. The house is found too small, and arrangements will soon be made to increase its size."
* CHURCHES: "There are three substantial churches."
* HOMES: "The residence portion of the village is made up of neat houses of different styles of architecture, but none of them very large."
* NEWSPAPER: "The Dorchester Star, which was established August 21, 1881, by H. C. Bittenbender, who edited it until January 19, 1882, when he sold it to Ryerson & Bullock, the present proprietors. The Star is a bright weekly paper, five-column quarto, in size, and is Republican in politics."