District Boundary Reporting. W.S (b) and W.S (c)(xxiv)

Transcription

1 District Boundary Reporting W.S (b) and W.S (c)(xxiv)

2 Purpose Establish standards for reporting the formation and legal boundaries of entities with the authority to levy taxes to the Wyoming Department of Revenue (DOR), county assessors and county clerks, as required by Wyoming statutes

3 DOR Duties Map and keep record of the geographical boundaries for all governmental entities with authority to levy a mill (W.S (xxi) Map and keep record of the geographical boundaries for all special districts (W.S (xxii)) Review boundaries for proposed special districts (W.S (xxiii)) Administer the rules and regulations necessary to map and keep record of the geographical boundaries for all special districts and governmental entities with authority to levy or require the levy of property taxes (W.S (xxiv))

4 Duties of the DOR, cont. Determine if taxing authorities meet the compliancy requirements Notification to taxing authorities of compliant or non-compliant status Notification to county commissioners, county assessor and county clerk of compliant and noncompliant entities

5 Definitions Tax entity/taxing authority: Any governmental entity with authority to levy or require the levy of property taxes Levy: The imposition or collection of an assessment (1/1000 th ) Compliant: The entity has met the mapping and reporting requirements to form and levy property taxes Non-compliant: The entity has failed to meet the mapping and reporting requirements to form and levy property taxes GIS: Acronym for Geographic Information Systems Metes and bounds: Describes a property by reference to physical features

6 Taxing Authorities Two types of tax authorities Governmental Entities State, County, School, Community Colleges, Cities and Towns Special Districts Cemetery, Conservation, DDA, Fire Protection, Hospital, Improvement & Service, Museum, Resort, Rural Health, Water and Sewer, Weed and Pest, and many more. These all have the ability to levy a mill.

7 Non-Taxing Authorities By Statute some districts are not able to levy a mill Drainage, Joint irrigation, Livestock, Predatory animal control, Public irrigation and power, etc. Typically receives funding through other means (e.g., fees) Some special districts are formed under the umbrella of another authority with the ability to levy. Watershed Improvements formed under the umbrella of Conservation districts.

8 Filing Requirements To be considered compliant, the DOR requires: Forming documents Official boundary map and/or Legal description All mapping rules and regulations can be found in Chapter 21 Tax District Mapping on the Property Tax Division website under Rules in the Tax Districts section.

9 Forming Document Requirements We are talking about the documents that establish a formation, or change, in a tax authorities boundary Normally called a resolution or an order. Acceptable formation documents must have Official name of the tax authority Date of formation/change Citation to the law under which the entity was formed (i.e. W.S ) Signed by the county commissioner Filed with county clerks office Let s look at a formation document

10

11 Forming Document Requirements, cont. If a formation document is not available, submit a letter outlining Official name and mailing address Date entity was formed Names of Board members and contact person Statute under which it was formed This is also called an In Lieu Of (ILO) document Here s an ILO document

12

13 Legal Description Requirements Legal descriptions must: Reference a PLSS grid or use metes and bounds system Include townships, ranges, sections and aliquot parts (i.e., T13N R66W S8 SW1/4SW1/4) Metes and bounds call in bearings and distances in the proper format (i.e., S E 1326 ) Contain a complete description of boundary from beginning to end point

14 Legal Description Issues Legal descriptions that refer to a specific page in book located in county clerk office and use of personal names E.g., Thence along the northwest boundary of said parcel owned by John Smith recorded in book 711, page 670 recorded in office of Teton County Clerk The use of witness points to an undefined location E.g., Proceed generally in NE direction 100 more or less to a witness point Legal descriptions that reference points that are locally known, not globically known E.g., Point of beginning is large oak tree north of town

15 Mapping Requirements Maps must include: Title Clear & complete reference to township, range and section Clearly marked boundary lines North arrow Appropriate scale to show boundaries in complete detail May submit digital maps in PDF format GIS data must be in shapefile or format readable by ESRI products

16 Wyoming Department of Revenue Rights & Responsibilities Upon receiving documentation, the DOR will review for compliance Within 60 days, the DOR will notify the entity of their compliant status. If noncompliant, the DOR will issue a deadline for correcting information Assist all tax authorities in the process of obtaining compliancy

17 DOR Rights & Responsibilities, cont. DOR will issue notification to all special districts of their compliancy status no later than March 1st of each year Notify county commissioners, county assessor, and county clerk of all compliant and non-compliant entities in their county Ensure any determination of noncompliancy has been thoroughly and fairly reviewed. Department wants to confirm we have done everything possible to help the entity in advance

18 DOR Rights & Responsibilities, cont. Assure that all tax district boundaries are plotted on a uniform set of district maps that can be easily reproduced or distributed Maps are available on our CAMA website at: Maps available in PDF format, GIS shapefile or Google Earth

19 District Responsibilities Any entity with the ability to levy a mill, that is formed or changes its geographical boundaries must provide the department and county assessor with: Forming document which contains the legal description An official map designating the geographical boundaries as formed or changed The entity must report this information within ten (10) days after the effective date of the formation or boundary change

20 District Responsibilities, cont All documentation must be filed by December 31 st if an entity has changed their geographical boundaries by annexation, enlargement, merger, consolidation, exclusion or dissolution. Districts do not need to re-submit boundary information unless changes are made to existing boundaries Failure to report to the DOR could result in a noncompliant status County commissioners will not be authorized to approve a mill levy Entity will not receive property tax revenue for the noted tax year Entity may not be funded the tax year

21 What may cause an entity to be considered non-compliant? Missing two of the three required documents Incomplete documents, such as legal, forming document and map Boundary map and legal description do not coincide District overlaps an existing district of same type Required paperwork filed after the deadline date

22 Compliancy Enforcement Once the final compliancy is set it is very difficult to undo. The March 1 st deadline: Is driven by taxpayer reporting requirements Effects the mapping of tax districts Impacts the general dissemination of information to taxpayers and the public Adopting any change after the deadlines would no longer feasible. The most restrictive deadlines are in the area of state assessed property which account for approximately 53% of the state s property tax valuations. Subsequently, the DOR strictly adheres to the December 31 st and March 1 st deadlines.

23 Timeline January 1: Assessment date January 31: DOR completes tax maps and processes data March 1: DOR notice of compliancy March/April: Notices of value for local assessment May: Deadline for filing appeals June: DOR certifies values to counties August: County commissioners certifying mill levy October: Assessors pass tax roll to treasurer December: DOR assessed utilities are notified of all taxing authority boundary changes January 10: DOR deadline for accepting change (must be dated from the prior year)

24 Contact Information Wyoming Department of Revenue Property Tax Division 122 West 25th Street Herschler Building, 2 nd Floor West Cheyenne, Wyoming Telephone: (307) Facsimile: (307) Web Page: District Maps: /districts