Grant County loses again

Head writers have to save space. In plain English, this headline from the Grant County News says, “The Grant County Board of Education is appealing the assessed valuation of the Ark Park by the County’s Property Value Administration,” which I take to be the assessor’s office. According to the article, which was not on the Web when we received it from Dan Phelps, the Board of Education had appealed the PVA’s valuation, lost, and is now suing.

The Board of Education claims that the 2017 assessed value of the property was $46 million, but they estimated that the fair value of the “Ark” is more like $130 million. According to the article, they note that the capital investment in the “Ark” was $90 million, and they estimate the gross income for 2017 to have been $30-$40 million. They further estimate that the value of the land was $10 million, so the total assessment, they claim, should have been $130 million. As a result of the undervaluation, the school board alleges a loss of approximately $470,000 in property tax revenue.

Thus does the “Ark” benefit Grant County.

The Kentucky Claims Commission Tax Appeals (is a preposition or something missing?) ruled that the Board of Education is not a taxpayer and so cannot challenge the assessment. The Board of Education then filed suit. You might want to make book on the likelihood that the court will deny them standing, but as a nonlawyer I would not take that bet.

Acknowledgment. Thanks once again to Dan Phelps for the tip and the photographs of the article.