HOT SPRINGS – The 2024 Assessment Notices for Fall River County are being mailed out by March 1. All owners should check that their property is classified as Agricultural or Owner-occupied if they have applied for those reductions.
There are tax reduction programs available for the elderly with low incomes and disabled groups. Information is available at the Fall River County website, fallriver. sdcounties.org, or you can speak to someone at the Assessor’s office, or for veterans, to the Veteran Service Officer.
If you bought, sold, or platted property between Nov 1, 2022, and Nov 1, 2023, it is especially important to review the legal description and acreage to ensure property was correctly transferred by our office.
“We want to remind our citizens that an increase in your value does not mean an equal increase in your taxes,” stated Director of Equalization Lily Heidebrink. “As values increase mill levies are reduced. In fact, entities such as counties, cities, fire districts, etc. are limited by law in how much they can increase their budget within a year, thus requiring them to reduce mill levies.”
The Department of Equalization is responsible for assessing and valuing property in a fair and equitable manner. If a property owner feels that their assessed value is greater than market value, please contact the Equalization Office so the property can be reviewed.
“We will contact owners in the order they have contacted the office. Showing up in person does not allow you to jump the queue. We strongly suggest calling ahead to schedule an appointment, 605-745-5136 or doe@frcounty.org to ensure someone will be available to speak with you,” Heidebrink said.
“So, what happens if you call?” Heidebrink asked. “First, our assessors will review your property with you to ensure that there are no mistakes in our data. Second, they will provide you with sales of similar property within your area to show that you are at market value. If a mistake is found or if there is an issue or unique situation with your property that would lower its market value, the assessor can provide a corrected value. If the assessor does not feel that they can adjust the value, the property owner can file an appeal to speak to the Board of Equalization.”
The appeal form must be filed by March 14, 2024, for the three LOCAL BOARDS (Argentine Township, Provo Township, and City of Oelrichs), and April 2, 2024, for the rest of the County. Values from this assessment notice will be used to determine tax bills in January 2025. You will not be able to appeal your tax bill at that time only your value now.
Owners of commercial property have the additional option of providing income information for a property for our office to do an incomebased assessment. Call for more information.
“We have included a Building Notification Form, the green sheet, with all the Assessment Notices. Please use this form ONLY if you have made any changes to structures on your property. You may also come into the DOE office, call, or go online to complete this form.”
If you do not receive an assessment notice in the mail by the second week of March, please contact the DOE office (605-745-5136) and they can print one for you to pick up or send a new original copy in the mail.