The owner of organic farm property is suing the Harrison Central Appraisal District over confusion as to how such property was used and the subsequent appraised value of that land. Kevin Schmidt, owner of Doodley Dee’s Farm, appeared before the appraisal review board to protest property taxes on his farm being raised from $4,000 annually to $31,000.
Schmidt said his taxes increased primarily because of improvements made to his property and because he did not receive an agricultural exemption. The appraisal review board decided to reduce the taxes on the property to $26,000 annually, but Schmidt said he plans to file a lawsuit arguing the value of the property is over market and unequal compared with other properties.
His protest also centered on the change in use of land appraised as ag-use, open-space or timber land in which he was denied an ag exemption, which would have given him some tax breaks. The agriculture exemption is given after a property has been in use for at least five years, according to the state comptroller’s office. Schmidt began work on the property in question in 2012.
“Ag use cannot be granted at this time because of the five-year limitation unless Mr. Schmidt can somehow find another year of use that was based on the previous owner,” Harrison Central Appraisal Board Chairman John Nelson told the Longview News-Journal.
Chief Appraiser Robert Lisman noted that Schmidt will meet the qualifications in 2017. Lisman said Schmidt can either wait until 2017 or present receipts from the previous owner of the land, showing that the acreage was used for ag purposes only. Lisman and the board also gave him the option to apply for a timber exemption.
“The board also voted that the property value was not equally compared to other properties because we do not have any other information that would allow us to make any other change," Nelson said.
Lisman said details on the appraisers’ assessments came, partially, from the farm’s website.
“Just on his website it talks about high-tech audio equipment, there’s a movie theater with a 12-by-14 screen,” Lisman said. “None of the farm-related equipment, such as the pumps, fish tanks, backhoes and bulldozer, was assessed because they are used for the farm.”
The chief appraiser also said the only building on the property last year was a house, whereas this year, the farm has added a 6,000-square-foot barn and about 3,000-square-foot storage building, game room and tennis court, among other structures.