The 2020 Knox County Valuations were released by the Knox County Assessor this past week, marking about a 2 percent increase in overall property valuation for the residents.

Each year the Knox County Assessor values property – real estate, personal property and centrally valued – to provide valuations of properties for taxing agencies to then set their levies for requested funding for the next year. The Assessor, for the real estate properties, generally finds the amounts by taking the past three years of available sales information and finding the mean of those figures, and then values all similar property with that figure, after the percentage modifier as set by the state.

In basic language, the valuations are derived through a mathematic formula based off the past three years of sales of similar property.

This year’s overall County valuation settled at $2.249 billion, up from last year’s $2.202 billion total just slightly.

Agricultural land sales for the past three years help dictate the majority of that valuation, and whether there be more sales, or sales that go for higher amounts in recent years, was enough to cause that number to begin to increase locally.

In the coming weeks, those taxing agencies will begin publishing their budget hearing notices, which is the public’s second chance to request changes to their tax rates. The first would be by protesting their individual valuations, and the second will be these budget hearings, which are public meetings, where the public can come give comment on the amount of funds each taxing agency is requesting.

Those notices will be published as the dates draw nearer, but taxing agencies are required to have their budgets turned in by September for approval at the County Superintendent level, a third level for the public to comment if desired.

In addition the evaluation below, the full numbers can be found on a chart near this story.

Crofton posts increase

The City of Crofton received a 3.22 percent increase in overall valuation this year, adding just more than $1 million in total valuation to its totals.

In 2020 the City of Crofton was valued at $36.311 million, and in 2019 it was valued at $35.179 million. Since 2016 the value has increased near $6 million.

Crofton’s Fire District will also see a slight increase from $335 million to $344 million.

The Crofton Board of Education will also have a bit more cushion this year, as the school’s taxable property increased by about 2.5 percent this year, up to $366 million from last year’s $357 million.