Cape schools may ask state to audit tax assessment

The financial scrambling after local property tax revenue fell short of projections has the Cape Girardeau School Board talking about calling in state officials to audit this year's assessed valuation.

"I see all these people driving new vehicles down Kingshighway, and it's hard to believe personal property taxes are down," said Sharon Mueller, school board president. "We just feel we need to know where and why the district's money is less than expected."

The 2003 property valuation did not grow as much as district officials had hoped, resulting in $100,000 less in tax revenue, the district's primary source of funding, than anticipated.

At a recent meeting, board members discussed the possibility of an audit, perhaps through State Auditor Claire McCaskill, to ensure that the data used to determine the valuation is correct.

Officials in the Cape Girardeau County assessor's office said although real estate increased by around $25 million this year, a lack of growth in business personal property assessments brought the overall valuation down.

"We can't make up assessments. What's there is there," said chief appraiser Roger Arnzen with the assessor's office. "There are 300 to 350 new homes built in Cape Girardeau every year. Is it possible I missed one? Maybe, but we monitor those as best we know how."

The district had conservatively projected a 3 percent growth in valuation this year, although officials say they really expected between 5 and 7 percent growth because 2003 is a reassessment year, which occurs every other year.

Total property valuations go up every year because of new construction, but in reassessment years, assessors reevaluate existing property where improvements may have been made in the intermediate year. School districts typically see a larger growth in those years because of that.

When the process was finished, the district saw only around 2.3 percent growth.

Arnzen said it is unlikely that any major mistake was made because the assessor's office is regularly audited by the state tax commission.

The commission, under the Department of Revenue, conducts audits every two years to ensure that local assessors are following state statutes and accurately assessing property.

No red flags

Commissioner Bruce Davis, based in Jefferson City, said there was a 9 percent growth statewide in assessed valuation, including new construction, but that it is not abnormal for specific counties to have a growth rate lower than that.

"I don't see anything so unusual in Cape Girardeau that it would throw up a red flag," Davis said. "Based on what the school district projected, it doesn't seem to be that large a decrease."

Other school districts in Cape Girardeau County also had smaller increases than expected in this year's valuations. Jackson saw just 5 percent in growth although officials had projected around 7 percent; Nell Holcomb actually had a 6.5 percent, or $2.4 million, decrease from the 2002 valuation.

Officials in both of those districts said they didn't find the lack of growth unusual given the state's current economy.

Cape Girardeau superintendent Mark Bowles said before the district considers asking for an audit, he will meet with Cape County Assessor Jerry Reynolds to discuss the valuation.

Bowles said the district was not questioning the competence of the assessor's office, only trying to comprehend the figures.

"It's a reassessment year, and we should have gotten a 7 to 9 percent growth. We'd just like them to pull their numbers out so that we can understand why it was less than expected," Bowles said. "We won't do anything else until we've taken that step."

cclark@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 128