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SHARI PLAGGE, ICA RES AAS
CITY ASSESSOR

515 CLARK AVENUE
AMES, IA  50010

PHONE: 515-239-5370
FAX: 515-239-5376

EMAIL:
CityAssessorInfo@CityOfAmes.org

HOURS: 8 A.M. - 5 P.M.

 

The City Assessor's office exists by city ordinance and is governed by the City Conference Board. The Conference Board has three voting units and the Mayor is the chairperson. For more information on the Conference Board, click here.

The Assessor's primary duty and responsibility is to assess all real property, which includes residential, commercial, and industrial classifications of property within its jurisdiction at 100% market value as of January 1 of the current year. Agricultural real property is assessed at 100% of productivity and net earning capacity value.

Real property is revalued every two years (odd numbered years are equalization years). The assessor also determines a full or partial value of new construction or improvements depending upon the state of completion as of January 1st.

An on-going process of gathering and reviewing information, measuring, and listing new construction, and investigating sales of real estate is used to determine the fair market value of a property. Market value is an estimate of the price that it would sell for on the open market on the first day of January of the year of assessment.  This is often referred to as the "arm's length transaction" or "willing buyer/willing seller" concept.

The County Auditor determines the taxable value after applying the assessment limitation or "rollback" to the 100% assessed value. The taxable value is used to calculate property taxes for the city, county, and school governments by applying the consolidated levy rates to determine the final tax bill. The County Treasurer collects the taxes and distributes the funds to the taxing entity.

The goal of the City Assessor's office is to ensure that the assessed values used to calculate property taxes are accurate and unbiased and to produce fair and equitable assessments as the basis for funding local governments and services.

The Assessor DOES NOT:

• Collect taxes.
• Calculate taxes.
• Determine tax rate.
• Set policy for the Board of Review.

The Assessor is concerned with value, not taxes.

New values are assigned in odd-numbered years. With the exception of the agricultural class, the assessed value is supposed to be the fair market value of the property.

Owners who are dissatisfied with the assessed value may appeal. The first step should be to visit with the assessor's office. The assessor's office will have information that will help you to understand your assessment as well as the assessment process. If after speaking with a member of the assessor's office, you disagree with the assessed value, you may request an informal review with the assessor or file a formal protest with the Board of Review. For more information on appeals, click here.

The City Assessor also processes applications for various tax credits and exemptions including homestead credit, military exemptions, and tax abatements. For a full list and how to apply, click here:

The City Assessor's office provides a significant amount of information regarding property values, selling prices, ownership, and physical characteristics to the public and other city and county departments.

Where Do Your Property Tax Dollars Go? - YouTube

To learn more about Iowa's property tax system, the Iowa State Association of Assessors have prepared a brochure, A Fair and Equitable Property Tax System.