Morton County Appraiser Office Appeals Process

Morton County Appraiser's Office Office Hours: Monday - Friday; 9am - 5pm 1025 Morton, Elkhart, KS 67950 Phone: (620) 697-2106

The Appeals Process

Note: Property owners may appeal the value on their property only once during the tax year.

Personal Property

The Morton County Appraiser mails a valuation notice on May 1^st to all personal property owners in the county notifying them of the appraised value of their personal property as of January 1^st.

Real Estate

The Morton County Appraiser mails a valuation notice to all property owners on or before March 1^st.

The valuation notice identifies the property, the classification of the property, the appraised value and the assessed value for the current and the previous year and instructions on how to appeal the appraisal.

Appealing Your Personal Property Appraisal

If you feel the classification or appraised value of your personal property is inaccurate, you may appeal on or before May 15^th. There can be two (2) successive levels of appeals if an agreement is not reached at a previous level. Each appeal level must be completed before proceeding to the next level.

1. Informal Appeal: The first step in the appeal process is to file with the county appraiser's office. You will be notified of a time and date for the informal meeting with the appraiser. If you are not satisfied with the results of this meeting, you may appeal to the State Board of Tax Appeals.

It is not required that property owners be represented by an agent or attorney, owners may represent themselves. Any property owner who intends to be represented by an agent (any person other than the owner of the property, their family members or their attorney) should notify the appraiser's office prior to the date of the hearing so notification will be sent to the proper person.

2. State Board of Tax Appeals: The instructions and forms are available from the appraiser's office. This hearing is similar to a courtroom setting where the property owner and the appraiser present their case to members of the Board of Tax Appeals (BOTA) will issue an order to the property owner and county appraiser of their decision. If either party is aggrieved by the BOTA order they may pursue their case at District Court.