3M appeals assessment to Missouri State Tax Commission

The largest employer in Nevada, 3M, has challenged Vernon County Assessor Cherie K. Roberts' appraised value of $11,068,020 on the company owned property at 2120 E. Austin Boulevard in Nevada.

In an effort to bolster its claim that Roberts' appraisal was too high, 3M engaged the services of the Appraisal and Consulting Services Co. of Kansas City, Mo., to conduct an independent appraisal. Appraiser Thomas H. Slack placed the value of the company's Nevada property at $3.2 million. Roberts also had an independent appraisal of the property and the value was placed at $11 million.

For the past several years the appraised value of the property has been pretty consistent. In 2006, the value was $11,120,400. It was reduced to $10,787,200; in 2007 and frozen at that value until the county-wide re-assessment placed the value at $11,068,020.

The appraisal was first appealed to the Board of Equalization which "did a no change" according to Roberts. The next step is to take the appeal to the three person State Tax Commission. Roberts said she has submitted the original appraisal and both independent appraisals to the tax commission and is "waiting for the State Tax Commission to schedule a hearing for us to meet."

Robert's said, "I think my value is very, very modest; I think it's very, very fair," because the property is in Nevada, not in Kansas City or St. Louis. Roberts is "upset" with the difference in values. "It's not fair for big business to be able to do this," and the little guy who "builds an awning to park his trucks under" has to take his assessment in stride.

Roberts thinks the discrepancy in value stems from the fact that an addition to the plant called a "Maker 50," subject to a 10-year Chapter 100 bond issue, has been taken off the bond exemption and put on the tax rolls. Property on a Chapter 100 Bond is not taxed, but the owner pays a payment in lieu of taxes. Those payments -- to the city of Nevada and the Nevada R-5 School district -- totaled about $46,000 last year.

Now that the Maker 50 is taxable, 3M is hoping to save more than $125,000 on its 2011 tax bill. Roberts' valuation would mean a tax bill of $181,782.07 and the independent appraiser's value would have 3M paying $56,421.38, a difference of just over $125,000.

If 3M's bid to reduce the valuation is a success, several local entities would lose money. The Nevada R-5 school district would lose more than $85,000 in tax revenue. The city of Nevada would lose nearly $20,000, the county's road fund would take a $7,200 hit, the Vernon County Ambulance District as well as the county's general revenue fund would lose about $3,000 each and the county health department would be losing $2,200.

The loss in tax revenue would also apply to the 2012 tax year, according to Roberts, so the above figure would be roughly doubled. The state tax commission will meet with all interested parties to hear the 3M appeal at the Vernon County Courthouse at a date to be announced later. They will then review the case and make a decision.