If area voters approve a new Petersburg borough next month, the borough government will levy and collect taxes on property including land, buildings and other improvements within the new borough boundaries. The new borough would pay a private assessing company to catalogue and value all of the properties outside of city limits. Petersburg’s borough petition projects a cost of $80,000 over two years for that assessor contract.
The current contracted assessor for the city of Petersburg is Mike Renfro, one of two owners of the Anchorage-based Appraisal Company of Alaska. He also did assessment work in the new borough of Wrangell after voters approved that in 2008, visiting remote residents in places like Meyers Chuck, Thoms Place and Union Bay. Renfro stopped by KFSK and talked with Joe Viechnicki about the assessment process and what he looks for in coming up with a property’s assessed value.
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Renfro says the process for challenging assessments would be the same as the existing city process. Values could be appealed first to the assessor, then to a borough Board of Equalization made up of the borough assembly members. Values can also be challenged in superior court.
