When could a Kansas county appraiser change a property's classification or appraised value after the appraisal process had begun?

Plain-English summary

Kansas PVD Directive 92-018 says a county appraiser could not freely change a property's classification or appraised value whenever an error or disagreement surfaced. Changes had to fit a specific statutory stage, deadline, or hearing procedure.

The directive identifies six settings:

1. Before certification. The appraiser could change classification or value before delivering the completed real- and personal-property appraisal rolls to the county clerk. The 1992 statutes cited a June 15 certification date.
2. At an informal meeting. The appraiser could change the property involved in an informal meeting held under K.S.A. 79-1448.
3. Through hearing officers or panels. While appointed hearing officers or panels were in session, the appraiser could ask them to order a change. The county clerk had to notify the taxpayer at least ten days before the hearing. The officer or panel ordered the change; the clerk or clerk's designee physically changed the certified roll.
4. For clerical errors. The appraiser had no authority to correct the assessment roll directly. The appraiser could request a correction, but the county clerk, county commissioners, or BOTA had the authority described in K.S.A. 79-1701, 79-1701a, and 79-1702.
5. After the hearing-panel session ended. The directive said panels could not sit after July 1 unless the Director of Property Valuation reconvened them. A taxpayer aggrieved by a change ordered during that reconvened session had only the K.S.A. 79-2005 tax-protest route identified in the directive.
6. Through the tax-protest process. The appraiser could change value after the formal meeting required by K.S.A. 79-2005, subject to BOTA approval. BOTA could schedule a hearing; if it took no action within 45 days after notice, the change became final. The directive says the taxpayer could then appeal that final change to the county commissioners or BOTA.

The organizing principle is that timing and legal authority mattered as much as the proposed value. The appraiser could act directly in some windows, could only request action in others, and sometimes another official had to order or physically enter the change.

What this means for you

Property owners disputing a value

Ask which procedure produced the change and who ordered it. A valid correction under this directive depended on the stage of the tax calendar, required notice, and the authority of the official involved.

County appraisers

Separate your power to recommend or request a change from the power to order it or edit a certified roll. The directive expressly withheld direct clerical-error correction authority from the appraiser.

County clerks

The directive assigned the clerk a central implementation role: providing notice for proposed hearing-panel changes and physically entering changes ordered in the certified appraisal rolls.

Tax professionals

Do not use the 1992 dates or appeal routes without checking current law. This directive is most useful as a map of which official had which role, not as a current filing calendar.

Common questions

Q: Could the appraiser change a value before the rolls were certified?
A: Yes. The directive allowed classification and value changes before certification to the county clerk.

Q: Could an informal meeting produce a change?
A: Yes, for the property that was the subject of the informal meeting under K.S.A. 79-1448.

Q: Who changed a certified roll after a hearing officer ordered relief?
A: The county clerk or the clerk's designee physically made the change under the order.

Q: Could the county appraiser fix a clerical error directly?
A: No. The appraiser could request a correction, but the directive assigned correction authority to the clerk, county commissioners, or BOTA.

Q: What notice applied to a hearing on an appraiser-requested change?
A: The directive required the county clerk to notify the taxpayer at least ten days before the hearing and state its time and place.

Q: What happened if BOTA did nothing within 45 days in the tax-protest process?
A: The proposed change became final under the procedure described in the directive.

Q: What is the formal approval date?
A: The signature date is blank. The second-page header shows 11-30-1992, but the PDF does not provide a completed approval date.

Citations and references

• K.S.A. 79-1465, 79-1466, and 79-1467 — appraisal-roll completion and certification.
• K.S.A. 1991 Supp. 79-1448, as amended by L. 1992, ch. 282, § 3 — informal meetings.
• L. 1992, ch. 282, §§ 7 and 10 — hearing officers or panels and their session deadline.
• K.S.A. 79-1701, 79-1701a, and 79-1702 — correction of clerical errors.
• K.S.A. 79-1404, Sixteenth — reconvening hearing officers or panels.
• K.S.A. 1991 Supp. 79-2005 — tax-protest hearing and appeal process.
• L. 1992, ch. 249, § 1 — authority cited for adopting the directive.

Source

• Landing page: Kansas Property Tax Directives
• Original PDF: PVD Directive 92-018

Original ruling text

STATE OF KANSAS

David C. Cunningham, Director
Robert B. Docking State Office Building (913) 296-2365
915 S.W. Harrison St. FAX (913) 296-2320
Topeka, Kansas 66612-1585

                                         Department of Revenue
                                      Division of Property Valuation


                                        DIRECTIVE #92-018

    TO:              County Appraisers

    SUBJECT: Valuation Changes


    This directive is adopted pursuant to the provisions of L. 1992, ch. 249, § 1, and
    shall be in force and effect from and after the Director's approval date.

    County appraisers shall make changes in classification and/or appraised value of
    property only in the following circumstances.

    First: The county appraiser may make changes in the classification and/or
    appraised value of property any time before the appraisal rolls are certified to
    the county clerk. See K.S.A. 79-1465. K.S.A. 79-1466, as amended by L. 1992,
    ch. 282, § 5, provides that the county appraiser shall on or before June 15 of each
    year deliver a document certifying that the real property appraisal rolls are
    complete. K.S.A. 79-1467, as amended by L. 1992, ch. 282, § 6, provides that the
    county appraiser shall on or before June 15 of each year deliver a document
    certifying that the personal property appraisal rolls are complete.

    Second: The county appraiser may change the classification and/or appraised
    value of property that is the subject of an informal meeting with the county
    appraiser or the appraiser's designee pursuant to K.S.A. 1991 Supp. 79-1448, as
    amended by L. 1992, ch. 282, § 3.

    Third: The county appraiser may request that the hearing officers or panels
    appointed by the county commission pursuant to L. 1992, ch. 282, § 7, makes
    changes in the classification and/or appraised valuation while they are in session
    as such hearing officers or panels. The county clerk notifies the taxpayer of the
    proposed change to the classification and/or appraised valuation of such
    taxpayer's property at least 10 days before a hearing on such proposed change,
    fixing a time and place for such hearing. In each of these circumstances, either
    the hearing officer or panel orders the actual change in classification and/or

Page 2

Directive #92-018 11-30-1992
appraised value of the taxpayer’s property. The county clerk or their designee
pursuant to such orders actually and physically makes such changes in the
certified appraisal rolls.

Fourth: The county appraiser has no authority to correct clerical errors in the
assessment rolls. Such authority is vested in the county clerk (K.S.A. 79-1701),
the board of county commissioners (K.S.A. 79-1701a), and the state board of tax
appeals (K.S.A.79-1702). The county appraiser does have statutory authority to
request the correction of clerical errors in the assessment rolls; however, it is the
county clerk who actually and physically corrects the assessment rolls pursuant
to either K.S.A. 79-1701, or as ordered by the board of county commissioners or
the state board of tax appeals pursuant to K.S.A. 79-1701a or K.S.A. 79-1702
respectively.

Fifth: Hearing officers and panels have no authority to be in session after July

1. L. 1992, ch. 282, § 10, unless reconvened by order of the director of property
   valuation pursuant to K.S.A. 79-1404, Sixteenth. K.S.A. 79-1404.

If changes in the classification and/or appraised value of properties are made by
the hearing officer or panel pursuant to the reconvening order of the director of
property valuation, the only appeal available to taxpayers aggrieved by such
changes is the "tax protest" provided by K.S.A. 79-2005.

Sixth: K.S.A. 79-2005, as amended by House Bill 2001, Kansas Register, Vol. 8,
No. 50, December 14, 1989 (now K.S.A. 1991 Supp. 79-2005), reopened the
"hearing" and appeals process." The county appraiser may change value as a
result of the formal meeting with the taxpayer required by K.S.A. 1991 Supp.
79-2005, subject to the approval of the state board of tax appeals. The state
board of tax appeals may schedule a hearing on such changes. If the state board
of tax appeals takes no action within 45 days of the notice of such changes, such
changes become final. Such "final changes" may be appealed by the taxpayer to
the county commissioners or the state board of tax appeals.

In summary, while the county appraiser is statutorily limited to making changes
in the classification and/or appraised value of property in the county within
specific time frames, there are other taxing officials who may order changes in
such classification and/or appraised value during other time frames.

Approved:
(Date) David C. Cunningham
Director of Property Valuation