04/30/2026
Last week I met with both the Assessing department and the Finance department to get an idea of what is working well for them and where they feel change would be helpful.
Kimberly with Assessing explained that every year their department picks an area of town and performs a zone review on properties. This is where they go to every house in an area and take measurements of homes and try to get inside the homes to take a glance. The purpose of this visit isn't so they can raise your taxes, but rather to make sure the information they have on their property cards matches the property. She mentioned when they switched systems, not all the information came through accurately and they just want to make sure everyone is being properly assessed. This year, they will be working in the Terra Vallee subdivision. Kimberly also mentioned that when letters go out each year with the expected value, if landowners have questions or doubt their predicted assessment, she wants landowners to call their office. She welcomes all calls and visits and wants to make sure it is all accurate.
Greg and Justin from the finance department were very informative in our meeting. They talked about how the city is working on a 10 year plan for projects and budgets and how they can sustain their funding when markets and economies are ever changing. Not so long ago, the City didn't really have a "fast forward" plan so it made it difficult to plan for big budgets items. They are proud of the progress the departments and commission have made in their planning processes and they recognize there are many challenges in the world of budgets, especially when some of the resources are unknown from year to year (federal funding, grant money, sales tax, etc.).
I appreciate that both of these departments were able to sit down and visit with me and give me some more insight as to the day to day challenges and successes. Having more insight and knowledge will only lead to better decisions.