5 hours Ago By Emma Loura - The Manhattan Mercury, Kan. (TNS)
Jan. 30—The Riley County appraisal office is considering changing its approach to granting tax abatements for properties destroyed in disasters. County staff members said Thursday at the Riley County Commission meeting that a state law about tax abatement for residences damaged in an earthquake, flood, tornado, fire or storm allows the county commission to decide whether it should give the owner an abatement.
The county commission has no written policy on this, but has not been giving abatements, which officials said was because of concerns about fairness. The commission at Thursday's meeting discussed instituting a policy on the matter. K.
S.A. 79-1613, which the state legislature passed in 2013, permits the abatement of taxes for buildings that are destroyed or substantially damaged in a natural disaster or a fire.
"To qualify for abatement, the cost of restoring the structure must equal or exceed 50 percent of the market value prior to the damage," county appraiser Anna Burson said. "The decision to grant tax abatements under this statute is at the discretion of the county commission." Burson said historically, Riley County has opted not to grant these abatements because of concerns about equity among taxpayers.
However, there is no formal written policy in place about it. Burson said the appraisal office staff will draft a policy for the commissioners to review and comment on at a later time. Officials said property owners sometimes reach out to the county government with inquiries when their buildings have been destroyed in a catastrophic event.
"These inquiries are typically directed to the appraiser's office, as property owners often assume these changes to property condition within a current calendar year will impact the appraised value of the property," Burson said. "However this assumption is incorrect." According to state law, if a "homestead" is destroyed between Jan.
1 and Aug. 15, the owner may apply for tax abatement. If property taxes have been paid or partially paid, the owner may apply for a tax credit.
If the homestead is destroyed on Aug. 15 or after, owners may apply for a credit against property taxes payable during any or all of the next three taxable years. Bryant Parker, the county counselor, suggested looking at each property case individually.
"This all pulls at the heart strings, because who doesn't feel terrible when somebody loses their property to fire?" Parker said. "It's a terrible fiscal event. The challenge would be how do you decide?" Commissioners asked questions but didn't comment on the matter.
The commission will discuss it again at a future meeting. © 2025 The Manhattan Mercury, Kan..
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