Assessed property tops $1B

Final figures are in and the total assessed value of property in Cape Girardeau County is officially $1.032 billion.

The final figures were compiled by the assessor's office after the close of action last month by the Board of Equalization, a panel that includes the county commission, the assessor and the county clerk. The board received 18 appeals and lowered the assessments on three properties.

Only one residential property owner appealed the assessment and the owner, Alfred Westrich, was the only property owner to appear in person before the board, Commissioner Larry Bock said. Westrich questioned the assessment on his home at 2575 Meadow Lane in Cape Girar-deau, which was raised in value because of new drainage structures put in place that would reduce the chance of flooding.

"We couldn't help him," Bock said. "You want to but you just can't."

The remaining appeals were filed by commercial property owners in the form of letters that would preserve their right to take the assessment before the State Tax Commission.

The three properties where changes were made include the former Barnes & Noble location on William Street in Cape Girardeau, which was reduced due to a high vacancy rate; the Rubbermaid factory in Jackson, where the reduction was ordered because the company provided details of sale prices of similar plants; and the Sundance Apartments on Hackberry Street where the value was reduced because of state rulings on subsidized housing values.

The figure, the first official total that puts Cape Girardeau County's property value above $1 billion, represents a 8.9 percent increase over last year's total assessment.

The $1 billion figure represents a milestone that shows the health of the local economy, Bock said. "I knew the county was growing but I didn't know it was growing that fast," he said. "$1 billion. That is a huge assessment."

The major property classes included in the $1 billion figure are:

• Residential property, assessed at 19 percent of appraised value. Residential properties assessments totaled $512.6 million.
• Commercial property, assessed at 32 percent of appraised value. Commercial property assessments totaled $238.2 million.
• Personal property, such as cars and boats, assessed at 33 percent of appraised value. Personal property assessments totaled $209.7 million.

The remaining portion of the $1.03 billion includes farms, personal property of railroads and utilities, and state assessed properties of railroads and utilities.

There are factors that would, if fully exploited, push the assessments higher, said Roger Arnzen, head of the mapping and appraisal department of the assessor's office. The top value homes in the county are likely undervalued because it is difficult to judge what they would bring if put on the market for sale. The assessed value of a property is set at a fixed percentage of the appraised value, with a different percentage for each class of property.

Appraised value for homes and commercial properties is set by the likely price it would bring on the market, based on comparable sales. The top value homes are hard to gauge because there have been few, if any, homes sold in the $1 million price range.

"All we can do is look at the most expensive stuff we've got and what it is selling for on a square-foot basis," Arnzen said.

And some commercial retail properties could be undervalued because of the difficulty of getting accurate information about the cost of renting space and fluctuating vacancy rates, he said.

"We look at three ways to appraise property for commercial values," he said. "There is the cost to build a replacement and sales of similar properties, but the most accurate way is what kind of income will the property produce if it going to be rented or leased."

State law requires property to be reassessed every two years. When the annual increase in assessments for existing properties increases faster than inflation, tax entities are required to reduce their property tax rates to avoid receiving a windfall of new money.

rkeller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126

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Top 10

The most valuable single-family homes in Cape Girardeau County as appraised by the assessor's office. The list excludes apartment properties, which under state law are assessed as residential.

• James N. Vangilder Trust: 1692 Ridge Road, $2.02 million
• Gary W. and Wendy K. Rust: 250 Birdsong Lane, $1.79 million
• Rodney Gary Arnold Trust: 465 Bristle Ridge, $1.17 million
• Jerome R. and Mary J. Zimmer: 401 Bristle Ridge, $1.08 million
• Guy S. and Diana Nicole Caldwell: 645 Shady Path, $988,764
• Maria J. Gates Trust: 2316 Derbyshire Lane, $982,260
• McGinty Family Trust: 1001 Wolf Lane, $976,489
• Norma Spiller Trust: 391 Dux Landing Road, $930,489
• John S. Daniel: 225 Wellington, $875,382
• Gary and Rose Brothers: 425 Windwood Lake Drive, $812,956

Source: Cape Girardeau County Assessor's office