Equalization Office

The function of the Beadle County Office of Equalization is to annually value all real property in Beadle County at it's full and true market value, except for agricultural land, which is valued on it's productivity value. This value is then used for taxation purposes but the Equalization Office is focused on fair and equal market valuation and not taxation.

Note: The Assessor does not:

• Calculate, tax
• Collect tax
• Choose tax rates or
• Set policy for the Board of Review

The Assessor is concerned with value, not taxes. The taxes you pay are proportionate to the value of your property compared to the total value of the taxing district in which your property is located.

Responsibilities

• Administering all state laws pertaining to the ad valorem property tax system.
• Continuing to educate the public on the South Dakota tax system.
• Determining tax exempt status for applicable properties.
• Determining the taxable value of approximately 15,500 parcels in Beadle County.
• Discovering, listing and valuing all real property within Beadle County.
• Linking real properties to their respective owners and placing assessed values and owners' names on the assessment roles.
• Types of properties included in the assessment process are: residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural.
• Mailing assessment notices by March 1st of each year.
• Providing equalization between classes of property.
• Working through the appeals process with review boards.

The Beadle County Office of Equalization also works with the following areas:

• Owner-occupied applications.
• Discretionary formulas.
• Elderly and disabled assessment freezes.
• Mobile home registrations.
• Renewable energy credits.
• Tax moratoriums.
• TIF districts
• Veteran's property tax relief programs.

Staff Information

The Beadle County Board of Commissioners appoints the Director of Equalization. The Director of Equalization and staff appraisers must be certified by the South Dakota Department of Revenue in order to assess real property for tax purposes. After initial certification, appraisers must be re-certified every five years. Requirements for re-certification include:

• Attending and passing the annual Department of Revenue sponsored school.
• Attending the South Dakota Association of Assessing Officers Conference.
• Attending workshops.

Office administrators assist with maintaining all office records and also must attend necessary training sessions.

What is Mass Appraisal?

Mass appraisal is the systematic appraisal of groups of properties as of a given date using standardized procedures and statistical testing. This differs from single property appraisal, commonly referred to as “fee” or “bank” appraisal, which normally deals with only a particular property as of a given date.
Mass appraisal includes the application of single property appraisals as well as the development of appraisal formulas and statistical models that can be applied uniformly to a number of properties at a time.
The Equalization Office annually reviews towns or neighborhoods that are in need of reappraisal so that a new appraisal can be applied to each property. The department also performs continual statistical analysis on property sales and current appraisals to determine if assessment values are in line with what properties are selling for. If not, values are trended to the market by several different means.

What is Taxable Value?

Taxable value is a percentage of the assessed value as determined by the Department of Revenue. The Department of Revenue audits the Director of Equalization's information to determine the median level of assessment. That level is then put into a calculation to determine what percent of the assessed value is taxable.

What is a Mill Levy or Dollar Per Thousand?

The mill levy or dollar per thousand is determined each year by dividing the total amount of dollars needed by each entity (city, county, township, and school) from the total taxable value.

What is a Legal Description?

A legal description is simply a description that contains a designation by which a piece of property is identified. In the written transfer of real property, it is required that the instrument of conveyance (deed) include a written description of the property.

What is a Parcel?

A property regardless of size, under one ownership, is generally described as a parcel. In maintaining ownership records, the assessor defines the boundaries of land according to ownership and assigns a unique identifying number to each parcel. This is referred to as the parcel or ID number.