Quad Cities Watchdog Sniffing out government's lack of common sense

Rural Homes To Be Assessed – Inside & Out

Awhile back I read a news article by the Quad City Times that stated more than 5,500 rural homes in the county were to be assessed both inside and out. This prompted me to wonder what kind of physical access would be required in order to do a really good assessment as indicated in the article.

So, I sent an email to the County Assessor's Office as follows:

Dear Scott County Assessors Team:

I read an article yesterday stating that you will be conducting
assessments on rural properties throughout the Scott County area.  I
don't live in any of the mentioned areas but do have a question about
the process.  That is:  What happens if a homeowner refuses to let you
into their home when performing an assessment?  What kind of
repercussions could be expected?

Thank you for your time and consideration of my questions.

I received the following reply less than an hour later (not bad for a government 'eh!):

Iowa law requires homeowners to assist the assessor in listing the
property.  This would include measuring the exterior and listing the
interior.  If it is not possible to view the interior, then the
appraiser will estimate the listing based on the best information
available from inspection, previous listings, photos, typical
neighborhood standards, etc.  Our goal is to value all properties
properly.

Dale Denklau

I pondered on that response for a little while and then asked the following:

Dale:

Thank you for the quick response!  I'm sorry to be a bother, but could
you give me the code you are referring to when you said, "Iowa law
requires homeowners to assist the assessor in listing the property".
Maybe I need to be more specific in terms of a scenario to help better
explain my question.  So, what would happen if the assessor rang the
bell, the homeowner answered, and then said no to allowing the
assessor entry.  Would the sheriff be called in?

Thanks again and I look forward to your response!

I think this was a fair question and so received the following reply:

Iowa Code Section 441.18 states: " Each assessor shall, with the
assistance of each person assessed---".  Code Section 441.19 is titled
"Owner to assist-provisions for assessment". Code Section 441.24 is
titled "Refusal to furnish statement" and states in part "the
assessor---shall proceed to list and assess the property according to
the best information obtainable, and shall add to the taxable valuation
one hundred percent thereof,---".  Our goal is not to penalize the
taxpayer, but to value the property correctly.  We have very seldom
applied any penalty to any assessment.

Our preference is to view the interior as well as the exterior in order
to judge the quality of construction as well as the physical condition.
Refusing entry will not result in involving the sheriff.

Dale Denklau

I'm happy to say that our liberties and freedoms, at least in this case, will not be violated by this new action and I applaud the Scott County Assessors Office and Mr. Denklau for their quick and detailed responses.

If you would like more information on this subject or have other questions about real estate property, assessments, and taxes related to such I highly recommend you contact their office in these ways:

Web: Scott County Assessor

Mail:

Scott County
Assessor's Office
Administrative Center
600 W. 4th St.
Davenport, Iowa 52801-1030

Monday - Friday, 8:00 - 4:30
Office: (563) 326-8635
Email:
assessor@scottcountyiowa.com

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