Resident says assessor failed to apply state ruling to property classification

Randy Behrens, a Carroll County resident and property owner near Manning, urged the Board of Supervisors to help resolve a multi-year dispute over his parcel’s tax classification. Behrens said he built a 5,900-square-foot building in 2017 for on‑farm machinery and that the Property Assessment Appeal Board ruled on April 24 that “the subject's property primary use is agriculture as of January 1, 2024.”

Behrens said he received a tax statement showing the parcel listed as commercial for 2025 and asked why the PAA ruling— which he said directed reclassification and revaluation effective Jan. 1, 2024—was not reflected going forward. He said he filed complaints with the county Board of Review and pursued the state appeal because he believed the county had not followed the higher board’s order.

Sarah Habrow of the assessor’s office told Behrens the office is constrained by the statutory assessment timeline: “the assessor's office has to send out assessment notices per code on or before April 1st of every year,” and, she said, the assessor cannot change classifications after notices go out without a subsequent appeal or a court order. Habrow and other officials explained that the county’s notices for 2025 reflected records available before the PAA ruling was received and that appeal windows and assessment-notice timing can create the outcome Behrens described.

County supervisors said the Board of Supervisors does not directly handle classification appeals and directed Behrens toward the Board of Review and the formal appeal process; staff recommended he seek legal counsel if he believes the PAA order was not followed. The board did not take formal action at the meeting.