Jefferson County Clerk’s Office The PVA has to produce evidence to justify the assessment and likewise, the taxpayer needs to bring documentation of his position to the conference. This usually includes-sales or assessment data from comparable properties; income and expense statements for the past three accounting periods (this pertains mainly to commercial properties); any recent appraisals of the property; original construction cost or cost of additions or improvements to the property; documentation of insured value; or asking price information if the property has been recently offered for sale. Most disagreements are usually settled at this conference, but the taxpayer can then appeal the conference decision of the PVA to the Summer is a time to plan quality family time or a get together with friends. Whether you are traveling or vacationing in our beautiful state, take extra precautions to ensure the safety of your family. Jefferson County residents will once again on November 6th go to the polls to determine who will lead Jefferson County into the future. The Election Center will need over 2,400 Election Officers for the General Election. If you would like to be part of the electoral process, don’t hesitate to call the Election Center at 502.574.6100 or fill out the Election Officer online application to see if you qualify. The Clerk’s Office just launched a new Election website to replace the one we had been using for many years. The new site was designed in-house and operates very similar to the JCCO website. Hopefully, you will find it easy to navigate. It was designed with the thought process that you could answer your question with the ease of two clicks. I am always looking for a way to serve you better in all my divisions. If you have any suggestions as to how the Clerk’s Office can better assist you, please do not hesitate to contact me. I have made comment cards available in all public areas and available online. We look forward to serving you! Enjoy your summer. Bobbie Holsclaw Jefferson County Clerk We in the Clerk’s Office play a vital role every year in the real estate property tax assessment appeals process. Kentucky law doesn’t really give the Clerk any discretionary power with respect to tax levies; that’s up to the PVA, then a series of tribunals starting with the county board of appeals. The clerk’s office, though, is the office of record for this process and functions as essentially the traffic cop to keep it all moving smoothly. This starts with the annual assessment on January 1 of each year, provided by the state constitution. All property has to be assessed at “fair cash value”, i.e., what it would bring at a fair, voluntary sale with a willing buyer and willing seller. Whenever an assessed value of real property changes from the previous year’s assessment, the local property valuation administrator (PVA) is required to send the affected property owner a notice of the change. When property owners disagree with the new assessed value, the first step in the appeals process is to schedule a conference with the PVA or a designated deputy. This occurs at the end of the tax roll inspection period, normally the first Monday in May, continuing for six days per week for the next two weeks, and ending on the third Monday in May. If the PVA sends out their assessment notices earlier in the year rather than waiting, conferences can be scheduled much sooner. Conferences don’t need to be in person; they can occur over the phone. A Message from the Jefferson County Clerk Appealing Your Unappealing Taxes (Part 1) By: Frank Friday Esquire Director continued on page 2 Summer 2018