By Box Butte County Commissioners (Steve Burke, Brett Ditsch, Michael Sautter)
The Box Butte County Board of Equalization, which is comprised of the three Box Butte County Commissioners, has become increasingly frustrated with actions taken by Box Butte County Assessor Michelle Robinson (Assessor), the Nebraska Property Tax Administrator (PTA), and the Nebraska Tax Equalization and Review Commission (TERC) regarding the property valuation of a certain subclass of property in Box Butte County. The actions taken by all three have resulted in valuations that do not meet mass appraisal techniques, resulting in dis-equalized valuations for dwellings located in rural Box Butte County.
The PTA’s 2025 Reports and Opinion stated that “farm home sites do not carry the same value as rural residential home sites. The county assessor based on sales data determined that the first acre rural residential site needed to be raised to $50,000 whereas the farm home site remained at $20,000 after implementing new cost and depreciation, ag dwellings received a 35% economic depreciation that wasn’t applied to any other rural dwellings, resulting in dis-equalized valuations.”1 The PTA, however, did not have time to gather evidence to justify any recommendations regarding this issue.
Based on the information in the PTA’s 2025 Reports and Opinions, the Box Butte County Board of Equalization, during the valuation protest process available to property owners, lowered the first acre site on the rural residential subclass properties from $50,000 to $20,000. The Board subsequently filed a petition with TERC to have the entire rural residential subclass lowered from $50,000 to $20,000.
In TERC’s decision, they state that “the Commission finds that the valuation methodology for valuing the first acre of rural residential sites and farm home sites results in dis-equalization valuations. The County Board has demonstrated that the valuation methodology used to assess the first acres of rural residential land in Box Butte County results in values that are not equitable and in accordance with the law.”2
However, TERC denied an order to reduce the first acre home site for the rural residential sub-class based on the fact the “Board did not offer evidence of the result of the requested adjustment on the level of value of a class of subclass of real property in Box Butte County.”3 It’s the contention of the Board, based on research of state statutes 77-5023 “Whether or not the level of value determined by the commission[TERC] falls within an acceptable range or at the midpoint of an acceptable range may be determined to a reasonable degree of certainty relying upon generally accepted mass appraisal techniques.”, that this hyper-technical analysis is to be performed by TERC with the aid of the PTA.
After TERC’s finding and order denying the petition was received, Assessor Robinson proceeded with her improper and unlawful valuations and appealed the Board’s decisions made during the valuation protest, appealing to reverse the Board’s decision made during the valuation protest process lowering the first acre site on rural residential from $50,000 to $20,000. These fifty plus appeals are waiting for TERC’s ruling.
The Board, represented by Box Butte County Attorney Marissa Curtiss, appealed to the Nebraska Court of Appeals to contest the issue of whether it was the Board’s responsibility to provide evidence of level of value. It’s the Board’s contention that we met our burden of proof in the TERC appeal and were not required to provide the level of value. Unfortunately, we were not afforded the opportunity to have the case heard, as the County Attorney failed to properly or timely serve the summons on the parties, and the appeal was dismissed.
The Board’s frustration results from both the PTA and TERC, who concluded that Assessor Robinson’s valuations resulted in dis-equalization not in accordance with the law, however, both continue to favor the County Assessor over the taxpayer. The Board is also extremely disappointed with the County Attorney for failing to effectively represent the Board through the appeal process.
The Board remains committed to taxpayers of Box Butte County to get this issue resolved. We will continue to look for ways to equalize rural residential values for 2025 and will continue to contest these issues for valuations for 2026 next summer. It’s clear that the assessment methodology the County Assessor has employed results in dis-equalized valuations for dwellings located in rural Box Butte County and is against the law. We adamantly defend our decisions regarding lowering the first acre site from $50,000 to $20,000 for those who filed property valuation protests for 2025. Any rural residential subclass property owners who are involved in production agriculture are strongly encouraged to fill out an Ag Verification Form in the Assessor’s office as soon as possible.
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https://terc.nebraska.gov/sites/default/files/doc/07Box%20Butte_8.pdf
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2 25CP 0001 Box Butte County Order on Petition.pdf Page 4