Box Butte County Board of Equalization hears dozens of property valuation protests; agenda approved

The Box Butte County Board of Equalization met at 8:00 a.m. July 10 in the Commissioner Board Room at the Box Butte County Courthouse in Alliance. The board approved the agenda on a motion by Mike Sautter, seconded by Steve Burke, with Brett Ditsch, Mike Sautter and Chairperson Steve Burke recorded as voting yes.

Martie Burke, County Clerk, recorded the proceedings and administered the oath to property valuation protestors before the board considered individual protests filed on Property Valuation Protest Form 422. The notice of hearings was published June 10 in the Alliance Times Herald and the agenda was posted to the county website on July 9.

No members of the public spoke during the public comment period (8:12 a.m. to 8:46 a.m.). The board then proceeded to read Form 422 protests and hear evidence from a series of property owners and parties listed in the record. In the first group the record shows evidence heard from Marty Moody; Doug and Jackie Daugherty (four parcels noted); Michael McGinnis; Bryant and Jamie Quick; Rebecca Braun; Renee Moss; Kevin Bergfield (three parcels noted); Robert and Annette Henkel; and Karen Brown. The record also lists several named protestors who were noted as not present for their hearings (Riki Hunter; James League; Bud Welch).

The board recessed at 10:02 a.m. and resumed at 10:10 a.m., after which it continued to read protests and hear evidence from additional parties, including Barbara Niehues; Julie Kresl (two parcels noted); Craig Barthel; Jamie Burnett; Michael Mittlestadt; Adam and Kristy Bolek; Sara Moscrip; Susan Lore; and Dan Fillis. The record also notes that Tyler Brown, Aaron Wood and KL Wood & Co., LLC were listed but not present.

Chairperson Steve Burke adjourned the Board of Equalization at 12:13 p.m. The transcript of the meeting records the reading of the protest forms and that evidence was heard; it does not record formal disposition or vote outcomes on individual valuation protests. Any formal rulings or determinations on the listed Forms 422 are not specified in the meeting record provided.

Meeting documents referenced in the record include the notice of Property Protest Hearings (published June 10) and the Property Valuation Protest Form 422. The county clerk’s office holds the affidavits of publication and the meeting minutes for the official record.