EXPLAINER: The Wyoming State Board Of Equalization’s Role In Property Valuations

The Board of Natrona County Commissioners are schedule to hold the County Board of Equalization Hearings on September 4th and 6th.

Hearings are scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. and ending at 5:00 p.m. with lunch from 12:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.

“The duties of the state board shall be to equalize the valuation on all properties in the several counties and such other duties as may be prescribed by law.”

Pursuant to state statute, the Board is required to hear appeals from county boards of equalization and review final decisions of the department of revenue under contested case procedures of the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act.

The current State Board of Equalization includes chairman Martin L. Hardsocg, Vice-Chairman David L. Delicath, and board member E. Jayne Mockler. They were appointed by the Governor.

The County Boards of Equalization sit as the trier of fact for local property tax disputes. The Board reviews those decisions in the same way that the District Courts or Wyoming Supreme Court review lower court/agency decisions.

The State Board’s review is restricted to the record created by the County board.

Their two main missions are to adjudicate taxpayer appeals from decisions of the Department of Revenue (including the Liquor Division), the Department of Transportation, and the 23 county boards of equalization.

The Board also evaluates the performance of county assessors using procedures established by statutes and the Board's rules. They annually review all local and state valuations and levies, including mobile machinery levies.

Although an administrative agency, the Board functions much like a court. Its workload depends principally on conflicts arising outside the agency, and its ability to dispose of pending matters is constrained by established procedures and the actions of the parties before it.

"In the Board’s experience, statistical anomalies that surface during the annual evaluations often arise from conditions, such as rapid local growth, that do not warrant changes in the work practices of county assessors.

"After the abstracts are approved, the Board certifies the mill levies for each county. During the summer months, the Board’s equalization function is given priority over other duties" as recorded in state legislative documentation.

See some of the Board's recent decisions here.