STURGIS, S.D. (AP) - A county commission in western South Dakota has decided not to reduce agriculture land values despite the continued drought.
The Meade County Commission recently voted against the assessment adjustment, the Black Hills Pioneer reported . The adjustment was proposed by the county’s director of equalization to reduce agriculture land assessments by 26 percent to account for the drought.
The U.S. Drought Monitor recently listed nearly two-thirds of Meade County in the moderate drought category. The remaining third is listed as abnormally dry.
“I think this is justifiable because of the severity of the drought,” said Commission Chairman Galen Niederwerder, the only commissioner to vote for the proposal. “It has tremendously affected a large part of this county.”
Commissioner Linda Rausch expressed concern that the adjustment would shift the tax burden onto taxpayers that aren’t affected.
Meade School District Superintendent John Pedersen cautioned that lowering assessments could mean that the school district would receive less funding from the state.
“You folks are going into uncharted territory,” Pedersen said. “This hasn’t been done before.”
Commissioner Ted Seaman said the proposal sets a bad precedent.
“I personally don’t see how we can move on this,” he said. “I would like to lower ag taxes just as much as anybody here in the room. but I don’t think we can do it without lower commercial taxes and lowering residential taxes when people get in trouble.”
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Information from: Black Hills Pioneer, http://www.bhpioneer.com
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