News
Morrissey, in an interview with a local radio station on May 26, 2006,
stated that if a taxpayer could not afford to pay their real estate
taxes, they should seek help "from their church or children". This
calloused attitude displays nothing but apathy and contempt for the
taxpayers and should not be tolerated.
Editorials -
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RETIRED COUNTY ASSESSOR SAYS - "NEW ASSESSOR IS NEEDED" -
In a letter to the Omaha World Herald published October 9, 2006, former County Assessor Frank Bemis said "a new assessor is needed".
Mr. Bemis served as a respected Douglas County Assessor from 1975 until his retirement in 1998. In his letter to the editor, he stated the current assessor Roger Morrissey has created a "MESS". He further stated, "Morrissey has hundreds, if not thousands of homes assessed over market value. This is a SIN. Morrissey in his eight years in office has increased the assessor's budget by over $1.1 million dollars to over $2.7 million dollars and he still CAN'T GET THE JOB DONE." (Morrissey's annual budget for the year 2008 was over $3 million dollars). -
"I BELIEVE THE HOUSE WOULD SELL FOR SOMETHING CLOSER TO THE $1.6 MILLION VALUATION APPROVED BY THE COUNTY BOARD" -
In an editorial published by the Omaha World Herald, Retired Publisher, Harold W. Anderson writes -
"According to Nebraska law, taxable real estate valuations are supposed to be based on some accurate measure of defensible estimate of market value. Has anyone .. offered any credible evidence - not simply another estimate - as to what the house would be likely to sell for if placed on the market? It might sell for Douglas County Assessor Roger Morrissey's $3.5 million estimate or more. But it might sit on the market indefinitely at such a price. There's a strong possibility, I believe, that the house would sell for something closer to the $1.6 million valuation approved by the County Board.
It is not at all uncommon for a handful of houses in a community to be so expensively constructed as to make them too expensive to buy and maintain (don't forget the very heavy property tax burden) and not too attractive to a potential buyer unless the asking and selling price - the only true "market value" is reduced well below what it would cost to reproduce.
I have no idea what the house would sell for, and I don't believe anybody else does either, including Assessor Morrissey. But, the market value of the mansion in question simply can't be known - or, I believe, authoritatively estimated - unless the mansion is placed on the market". -
"MARKET SETS THE VALUE" -
In an editorial published in the Omaha World Herald June 6, 2008, it is stated -
"..the valuation notice purports to indicate a property's "actual value" (what it would sell for on January 1 of each year). Therefore, the valuation should not be inflated to generate enough property taxes to accommodate spending policies. In fact, the valuations should be independent of all realities, other than those of "actual value". -
IF OUR PROPERTY TAXES WERE REDUCED TO LEVELS SIMILAR TO THOSE IN SURROUNDING STATES .. OUR HOMES COULD BE WORTH AS MUCH AS 10% MORE" -
In an editorial published May 28, 2008 in the Omaha World Herald, it is written -
A University of Kentucky study states that between 60 and 90 percent of property taxes are capitalized into the reduced value of a home. So a permanent $200-a-year increase in the property taxes could reduce the sales value of the home by between $1,200 and $1,800. If our property taxes were reduced to levels similar to those in surrounding states (which are still high by national standards) our homes could be worth as much as 10 percent more."