How should Kansas county appraisers adjust the agricultural use value of farmland that floods frequently, and under what legal authority?

Plain-English summary

This 1998 memo from the Division of Property Valuation to all Kansas county appraisers sets an interim rule for adjusting the agricultural use value of farmland that floods frequently.

Kansas values farm ground on productivity (agricultural use value). The soil-rating methodology already handles most soil characteristics, but the memo says frequent flooding "needs further consideration." NRCS already builds a frequent-flooding adjustment into the Soil Rating for Plant Growth (SRPG) index for soils described as "frequently flooded" or "channeled" — those soils "do not need further adjustments." All other acres the county identifies as frequently flooded must be adjusted under the memo's guideline until a yield-based procedure is finished.

The core rule: "If flooding has occurred at least two years of the last eight, resulting in crop loss for those years, a 20% adjustment should be made to those acres that flood." Appraisers verify the flooded acres using (a) FEMA flood-plain maps, (b) federal crop-insurance maps showing high-risk/AAA areas, or (c) the landowner's or operator's historic yield documentation. CRP acres and land classified as waste "should not receive a flood adjustment." Flowage easements purchased by the federal government (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) "also qualify for the reduction." Mechanically, the appraiser uses adjustment code F in KSCAMA and enters 80 as the adjustment factor.

Basis for the 20%: NRCS calculates an SRPG for frequent flooding that is 15% lower than for occasionally flooded soils, and "[t]his 15% reduction in the SRPG equates to approximately a 20% reduction in the landlord's net income."

Legal authority. The memo grounds the appraiser's power to make the change in two statutes:

• K.S.A. 79-2005 — when a taxpayer files a payment-under-protest, the county appraiser may change the valuation at the resulting informal meeting to assure the property is valued according to law (subsection (a)); and the taxpayer retains the right to pay under protest even after appealing the current year's value (subsection (b)).
• K.S.A. 79-1404, Sixteenth — the director of property valuation may order a county appraiser to change the valuation of any class of property to assure it is valued according to law. For appraisers who prefer to make the change before levies are set, "this memorandum is an order to make the foregoing changes."

The memo stresses that, whichever route is used, all affected properties must receive the adjustment for fairness and uniformity.

What this means for you

County appraisers

Apply a 20% use-value reduction to ag acres that have flooded at least two of the last eight years with crop loss — using code F and factor 80 in KSCAMA — but not to soils NRCS already rates as "frequently flooded"/"channeled," and not to CRP or waste land. Federal flowage easements qualify. You may make the change at a payment-under-protest informal meeting (K.S.A. 79-2005) or, before levies are set, under the director's order (K.S.A. 79-1404, Sixteenth); either way, apply it uniformly to all affected parcels.

Farmers and landowners

If your cropland floods regularly and you've lost the crop in at least two of the last eight years, your county appraiser can cut the flooded acres' agricultural use value by 20%. Be ready to document the flooded acres — FEMA or crop-insurance maps, or your own yield records showing the loss years. Land already in CRP or classified as waste doesn't get this particular adjustment.

A note on scope

This was an interim guideline pending a yield-based procedure being developed with NRCS and KSU, and it reflects 1998 KSCAMA practice. Confirm the current Division of Property Valuation methodology for any present-day valuation.

Common questions

Q: How big is the flooding adjustment?
A: A 20% reduction to the agricultural use value of the acres that flood, when flooding has caused crop loss in at least two of the last eight years.

Q: Which flooded soils don't get the extra adjustment?
A: Soils NRCS already describes as "frequently flooded" or "channeled" (the SRPG index already accounts for them), plus CRP acres and land classified as waste.

Q: How does a landowner prove the acres flood?
A: With FEMA flood-plain maps, federal crop-insurance (high-risk/AAA) maps, or historic yield documentation from the owner/operator showing reductions in the flooded years.

Q: What lets the appraiser change the value?
A: K.S.A. 79-2005 (a change at a payment-under-protest informal meeting) or K.S.A. 79-1404, Sixteenth (an order by the director of property valuation before levies are set).

Citations and references

• K.S.A. 79-2005 — payment of property tax under protest; the county appraiser may change a valuation at the informal meeting (subsection (a)), and the taxpayer keeps the right to pay under protest even after appealing the year's value (subsection (b)).
• K.S.A. 79-1404, Sixteenth — authority of the director of property valuation to order a county appraiser to change the valuation of a class of property so it is valued according to law.
• NRCS Soil Rating for Plant Growth (SRPG) index — the basis for the 20% figure: frequent-flooding soils rate 15% lower than occasionally flooded soils, roughly a 20% reduction in the landlord's net income.

Source

• Landing page: Kansas Department of Revenue Policy Information Library
• Original document: MEMO-AdjFrequentFlooding

Original ruling text

Memorandum

Body:

Division of Property Valuation

MEMORANDUM

TO: All County Appraisers

FROM: Mark S. Beck
Director, Division of Property Valuation

DATE: October 26, 1998

SUBJECT: Adjustments for Frequent Flooding

The soil rating methodology currently in place accommodates most soil characteristics found in Kansas. One area, however, that needs further consideration is frequent flooding. The Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) does adjust for frequent flooding in the Soil Rating for Plant Growth (SRPG) index. Those soils can be identified by the description "frequently flooded" or "channeled" in the soil name. These soils do not need further adjustments*. All other soils the county identifies as frequently flooded as defined in this memo will need to be adjusted. We are currently working with NRCS and KSU to design an adjustment that will be based on actual yield reductions. Until that procedure is completed and implemented the following guideline is in effect.

PROCEDURE:

1. Delineate the ag use maps those acres which can be identified as high risk for flooding.
   Three sources that may help you verify those acres:
   a. Flood plain maps from FEMA (most counties will have these).
   b. Federal Crop Insurance maps showing high risk flooding areas or areas of AAA risk.
   If these are available (not available for all counties) they can be obtained at a local insurance
   agency that is providing Multi Peril Crop Insurance.
   c. If a. or b. are not available, use historic information from the land owner and/or
   operator that would include yield documentation for the acres identified as flooded.
   This data should show a reduction for those years considered as flooded.
2. If flooding has occurred at least two years of the last eight, resulting in crop loss for those years,
   a 20% adjustment should be made to those acres that flood.
3. CRP acres and land classified as waste should not receive a flood adjustment.
4. Flowage easements purchased by the federal government (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) also qualify
   for the reduction. Counties that are utilizing elevation studies should continue to do so.
5. Continue to use F for the adjustment code in KSCAMA and enter 80 as the adjustment factor for the
   soils and acres involved.

• If your county has a soil that is deemed "frequently flooded" or "channeled", we have included a list that
  specifically identifies those soils.

BASIS FOR ADJUSTMENT:
The 20% adjustment is based on a methodology developed by NRCS. They currently calculate a SRPG for
frequent flooding that is 15% lower than occasionally flooded soils. This 15% reduction in the SRPG equates
to approximately a 20% reduction in the landlord's net income.

LEGAL AUTHORITY:
Most of you will be making the foregoing changes during the payment under protest procedures. The county appraiser has the legal authority to change the valuation of property to assure that it is valued according to law as a result of the informal meeting when a tax protest has been filed pursuant to K.S.A. 79-2005. (See subsection (a) of K.S.A. 79-2005.)

Some of you, on the other hand, have expressed a preference for making the foregoing changes prior to levies being set in your counties. For those of you preferring this option, the director of property valuation has authority pursuant to K.S.A. 79-1404, Sixteenth, to order any county appraiser to change the valuation of any class of property in the county which may seem just and necessary to assure that all property within the class is valued according to law. For those of you who prefer to make the foregoing changes prior to levies being set in your counties, this memorandum is an order to make the foregoing changes. Whichever option you choose, it is imperative that for the sake of fairness and uniformity, all affected properties receive the adjustment.

Remember also, that with either option, when the director of property valuation orders a change in the value of the taxpayer's property, the taxpayer has the right to pay his or her taxes under protest notwithstanding the fact that the taxpayer may have previously appealed the current year's value. See subsection (b) of K.S.A. 79-2005.

Date Composed: 06/23/2000 Date Modified: 10/09/2001

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