The Warren County Commissioners got an earful from upset constituents who are unhappy both with their new property assessments but a process they say is unfair to some county residents.

The commissioners’ meeting on Thursday was largely dominated by concerns over the countywide property reassessment. Formal property assessment appeals are continuing through October, with the new property values scheduled to be certified on Nov. 15.

“We’re not against your assessment,” said county resident Eric Perry. “We really aren’t. We know we haven’t had a reassessment since 1989. Guess what folks, it ain’t our fault. It’s not our fault. These people are mad. A lot of things are not playing by the book. They’re not playing fair. There’s no transparency whatsoever. A lot of these folks here are senior citizens. They’re on a fixed income.”

One man asked if the county had gone to other properties to spot-check the work done by Vision Government Associates to make sure properties are being valued fairly. He noted that Commissioner Ken Klakamp has spoken about visiting some people’s properties and helping them have their assessment decreased. Klakamp said he has responded to county residents’ concerns and visited their homes in an attempt to help them through the process. Some of those property owners saw their assessments lowered.

“Just so everybody’s clear, I have been contacted by a lot of our constituents,” Klakamp said. “I am not a certified appraiser. I cannot appraise properties. What I did was I met with the people, I took pictures and discussed and brought that back to the assessor’s office for them to review.”

Commissioner Tricia Durbin said the checks and balances in the reassessment process come through the appeals process. While the county assessment offices assess a small percentage of county properties each year, the countywide reassessment process relies on state regulations and policies and then the appeals process to make sure the process is done fairly. The process is laid out by the state, with Vision Government Solutions required to abide by that process.

“As it relates to Vision and double-checking our assessment versus theirs, anybody that has come with an inquiry to our assessment office they have looked at that with their own expertise,” Durbin said. “It would not be physically possible for our small staff that we have to go out and compare every property in their own minds with Vision’s.”

Nathaniel Schmidt, county solicitor, said the county has also been holding regular meetings – often once a week – with Vision officials to make sure the figures being presented were uniform. Some of that process was asking property owners to make sure the information on their properties generated by Vision was correct before the actual assessment numbers were formulated. Now, property owners who disagree with their assessment have the opportunity to appeal that assessment.

County officials are also running tests and large-scale calculations to determine if the property values provided by Vision Government Services are fair and meet the legal standards of a property reassessment.

“So far the numbers that we’ve run, things are OK,” Schmidt said. “But we’re going to see now assessment appeals to go out. There’s been a lot of effort to make sure Vision has done their job competently. I can assure you that.”

Perry also had questions about the use of realtors to hear appeals as well as with Klakamp helping some people secure assessment reductions. Perry questioned fairness in the appeals process. He had been unable to review training certificates that showed those serving on the assessment appeals boards have taken the required state training – a point he shared with the Times Observer as well as with commissioners during Thursday’s meeting.

Schmidt said realtors on the assessment appeals boards are asked to recuse themselves from properties they may have been involved with so that an alternate can step in to hear that particular appeal. Schmidt also worked with Brian Buhl, county assessor, to make sure members of the assessment appeals boards had taken the required training and would make sure those certificates were available to Perry and those who want to review them.

“I assure you that they have received the training,” Klakamp said. “We knew going in they had to have so many hours of training, which they all received, those sitting on the board and the alternates.”

Now that the process is nearing its end, Commissioner Dan Glotz said he hoped that those upset with their new assessments are appealing the new assessments. Too many county residents, Glotz said, didn’t participate earlier in the process.

“There is an appeals process,” Glotz said. “I’m hoping everyone who is disputing their values is filing an appeal. We asked the question earlier, a lot of folks did not bother with the preliminary meetings with vision but instead jumped to conclusions. We’re at the point of this whole process where you need to file an appeal and I hope everyone who disputes their assessment and market value has done so. That would be your time to offer the information you have to dispute and state your case on what you believe the value correctly is.”