158% tax increase is really only 3.8%
Staff writer
Sifting through a notice of proposed property tax increases and public hearings, there’s a figure that’s, well, eye-popping.
The document states that Chisholm Trail Extension District is proposing a 158.66% increase in taxes.
No, Marion County’s extension office will not receive a 158.66% increase in tax revenue.
Instead of putting down just what the extension office will get from this county’s taxpayers this coming year, the form lists revenue for the entire district, including Dickinson County. The figures for the current year are for Marion County alone.
County clerk Ashley Herpich blamed the mistaken impression of a 158.66% increase on software the county uses.
“All numbers were entered correctly per our vendors’ instructions,” Herpich said. “Since Marion County is not the home county of the Chisholm Trail Extension District, the 2025 column in the vendor’s system reflects only the Marion County portion of the district’s tax revenue. The 2026 proposed amount reflects the entire district’s revenue request for both Marion and Dickinson County.”
District director Rickey Roberts said the increase for Marion County taxpayers would be around 3.8%.
All day Tuesday, Roberts said, people called him.
“My phone’s been ringing off the hook today,” Roberts said. “’Why are my taxes going up 158%?’ They’re not. Your taxes are going up 3.8%.”
A 3.8% increase would bring in roughly $339,000 from Marion County taxpayers.
The rest of the revenue would be generated from Dickinson County.
Reprinting the form would only be necessary if the tax amounts were underreported, Herpich said.
“In this situation, a reprint is not necessary because the amounts are correct and the appearance of prior year and current year data simply reflects a structural difference in the vendors system,” she said. “The RNR notices are correctly informing taxpayers of any entity requesting more revenue than the prior year and provide the required date, time, and location of the public hearing.”
How to read the document
For those who don’t understand what all the numbers in the notice mean, here is a breakdown explaining it.
The top portion of the notice lists the current year tax estimates of all taxing subdivisions affecting the property for which the document was prepared. All subdivisions are listed down the side.
Across the top, it lists the prior year actual tax, estimated tax if the district stays or exceeds the “revenue-neutral” rate, the total estimated tax at the district’s proposed rate, revenue from property tax levies, and the difference or change in revenue represented by a total dollar amount and percentage.
The center section lists dates, times and locations of public hearings for each district about the proposed revenue-neutral rate.
Chisholm Trail’s will be 6 p.m. Sept. 1 at 1116 E Main St., Marion.
Below the list of hearings is the valuation of the property and its classification — commercial, residential, etc.
Your prior year appraised and assessed values are listed, as are the current year’s numbers. This will tell you whether or not your property value has increased or decreased in value.
Residential property is assessed at 11.5% of its appraised value. Commercial property is assessed at 25% of its appraised value.