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Posted: 9:43 PM- OGDEN - Nearly 1,950 Weber County residents are appealing their tax assessments, many of them residents of the Ogden Valley where property values - and taxes - are soaring.
Doug Larsen, chief deputy assessor, said the county will go through the appeals and send those with sufficient information to independent appraisers.
If an appraiser agrees with the property owner, the value will be reset and taxes adjusted accordingly, he said.
If not, the property owner has a right to a hearing before the Board of Adjustment, which is essentially a hearing officer hired by Weber County. If the property owner isn't satisfied with that result, he or she can request a hearing before the State Tax Commission.
Ultimately, the courts would be the last resort.
Those appeals that do not supply enough information have another shot at it. They'll get letters giving them 20 days to provide more data, Larsen said.
In a year without steep rises in property values and taxes, the county receives 1,300 to 1,500 appeals, Larsen said.
Meanwhile, residents of Ogden Valley east of the northern Utah city, where some properties and their taxes doubled and even tripled in value, are continuing their campaign for tax relief.
Lawn signs proclaiming a properties "For Sale. Can't afford the Taxes," are sprouting up all around the valley.
Richard Sorenson, a council member in Huntsville Town, said Friday that he had given out roughly 300 since Wednesday. He ordered 2,000 and has a bucket-full of the signs for the taking outside his house.
"They're going fast," said Sorenson, who hopes to trigger a statewide movement to reform the tax system.
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