Cherry County Assessors Office Put on Probation by Dept. of Revenue

James E. Ducey. March 27, 2004.

The Cherry County assessor’s office has been placed on probation by the Nebraska Department of Revenue (NDR).

The county office had indicated a “pattern of nonconformity with timely meeting” critical deadlines, according to a letter dated February 5th, 2024 from the state agency responsible to ensure compliance with statutory assessment deadlines.

There were three particular items indicted:

“A. Whether Cherry County entered personal property into their CAMA system in a timely manner to correctly provide an accurate taxable value,” according to the state agency letter.

A “liaison visit” by NDR to the county office on September 17, 2023 indicated “that the deputy assessor and one clerk were still entering personal property into the county’s CAMA system; almost two months past when such information was to be certified to each political subdivision.”

Conclusion: ”This prevented the Assessor from certifying an accurate current taxable value of all taxable real and personal property to political subdivisions; thereby depriving them of the opportunity to make truly informed decisions setting levy rates.”

“B. Whether Cherry County submitted Homestead Applications in a timely manner.”

“The final submission of approved paper homestead exemption applications by Cherry County occurred on September 29, 2023.”

“Conclusion: Cherry County failed to comply with statute and submit homestead applications in a timely manner in accordance with state statute.”

C. Whether the Assessor is assessing all real property as of January 1, as required by Nebraska law.

An extension for the “abstract deadline of March 19th for good as provided by Neb. Rev. Stat. 77-151 as the deadline was not likely to be met. Notably, this extension was requested just two months after Assessor Moreland was sworn into office on January 5, 2023.”

“Conclusion: While requesting an extension is allowed by statute, the request foreshadowed a pattern of noncompliance with statutory deadlines, as detailed above, and a disregard for the severity of her nonconformity and its potential consequence for the taxpayers of Cherry County.

The lack of compliance meant the state Property Tax Administrator recommended “that the Cherry County Assessor by placed on probation for a period not to exceed one year.”

“During the period of their probation, the Assessor is required to do” five particular items, according to the NDR letter: comply with statutory deadlines, “identify training needs and schedule training for the Assessor and Office staff”, cooperate with NDR staff “during any planner or unplanned visit”, complete “educational requirements with a passing score if an exam is offered, and, submit a report to the PTA [Property Tax Administrator] on the first day of each month indicating “progress made in the prior month” …

“…correction actions/measures are recommended for Cherry County, by and through the Cherry County Board of Commissioners.”

The Assessor was required to submit, within 30 days of the date of the letter, a written plan that “sets forth specific action steps with benchmark dates to correct the deficiencies set forth in this report.”

A 10-step action plan was submitted to the NDR PTA on March 6, 2024 by assessor Moreland. “I believe this action plan will not only allow the Cherry County Assessor’s office to meet statutory requirements and be in compliance but also excel as a high functioning collaborative office,” she wrote in a cover letter.

The ten indicative steps are given here, with examples of ancillary notes for each item, which are given in entirety by the plan:

1. Weekly team meetings

2. Shared calendar using Outlook software

3. One on one meetings with each staff person every month

4. Office training: “As a relatively new staff we are inexperienced. Monthly training courses would be beneficial for the growth and experience of staff,” the report said. Examples of topical meetings would include Personal Property in March and Review of Abstract and Assessment Actions in April.

5. PAD Cherry County trainings: Homestead exemptions focused on specifics and scheduling

6. PAD webinars and coffee talks: all staff will “attend or watch webinars and monthly coffee talks hosted by PAD."

7. Education opportunities including required courses, other courses and NACA [Nebraska Association of County Assessors] workshops

8. Homestead work days for taxpayers to be held at Merriman, Hyannis, Cody, Thedford and Wood Lake

9. Assessment community workshop to be held at Mid Plains Community College at Valentine

10. Reports: reports will be filed monthly from March 25, 2024 through February 24, 2025. “The Board of Equalization Meeting will serve as an opportunity to discuss any needs of the office with the Board of Commissioners."

The submitted plan was accepted by the Nebraska Department of Revenue.

Property Tax Administrator Sarah Scott met with the county commissioners, assessor Jackie Moreland and county attorney Eric Scott at the March 12, 2024 when the 10-Step-Action plan was presented by the assessor. Sarah Scott “reviewed issues, findings, and corrective measures contained in the report," according to meeting minutes. “No Board action was taken.”

There was no indication given within the material reviewed if any of the information associated with the NDR and County Assessors activities or reports would be available for online review by county taxpayers. Documents could be obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.