Chicken growers, farmers advised to monitor reassessments

Delmarva Chicken Association is cautioning farmers in Sussex and New Castle counties to be prepared for a property value reassessment process that in Kent County caused some farm properties to face substantial year-over-year property tax increases.

Each of Delaware’s counties was ordered in 2021 to conduct a property value reassessment after the state’s Chancery Court ruled county property valuations were so out of date – in Sussex, dating to 1974 – that relying on them to set property tax rates was unconstitutional. Kent County was the first Delaware county to initiate its court-ordered reassessment process. The ongoing reassessment is designed to assign each property a fair market value as of 2024, updating assessed values last determined by Kent County in 1985. Property tax bills based on the new assessments were sent to Kent County landowners this summer, and Sussex and New Castle counties are following a similar schedule about a year behind.

After receiving questions this summer from concerned Kent County chicken growers and other farmers about their post-reassessment property tax bills, DCA collected assessed value and tax data for several dozen farm properties in Kent County. DCA found that many agricultural properties were given 2024 property tax bills substantially higher than their 2023 taxes. More than half of the farms DCA surveyed in Kent County saw their taxes increase more than 20% year over year, and eight farm properties saw their taxes increase between 50% and 200%.

“At the start of Delaware’s reassessment process, no one in state or local prepared farmers to expect huge tax hikes on their farm properties, so these tax bills have shocked and dismayed the chicken community, and they’re coming at a time when farm income trends are in the red nationwide,” said Holly Porter, DCA executive director. “We’re working to find solutions, like deferred payment plans, that could ease these surprise tax burdens imposed on Kent County chicken growers. And we’re urging farmers in Sussex and New Castle to get involved in the reassessment processes in their counties early on.”

In Sussex County, where hundreds of family farms raise broiler chickens, letters providing a new, fair market value assessment for properties are expected to be mailed to property owners in November. DCA is encouraging farmers, including chicken growers, to closely review the joint letter they receive from Tyler Technologies and the county with new assessment values. “If you believe that there were factual errors in your assessment (wrong square footage, number of houses, etc.) or have evidence to show the assessed value stated in the letter is out of sync with its actual fair market value, growers can challenge the errors or the assessed value following procedures laid out in the letters,” said Porter.

Taxpayers who challenge their assessments should be prepared to show documentation to prove that the fair market value figure assigned to their property is inaccurate, such as:

• A recent appraisal by a licensed/certified appraiser. This can be one conducted by a lender, or owners can hire a professional
• Recent sales data on comparable properties. These can be found on websites such as Redfin.com and Zillow.com, as well as county land records of recent transfers
• Insurance records
• Tax returns on a depreciation schedule. This is recommended only if it is a recent build or purchase
• Assessments of similar properties. 

For more information, go to dcachicken.com.