The PVA calculates the latest values of Louisville business and residential properties annually, looking at different sections of the county on a four-year cycle.
Using data from last year, officials reassessed properties in market areas 1 and 4. Market area 1 includes areas in northwest Jefferson County like downtown, Old Louisville and Russell. Market area 4 features communities east of Dixie Highway, including Pleasure Ridge Park and Valley Station.
Colleen Younger, head of the PVA, said the reassessment included about 76,000 residential properties and 8,000 commercial parcels. She added that the office uses information like a property’s condition and characteristics as well as nearby sales to make a reasonable judgment.
“For instance, if you live in a ranch property, you are not going to be compared to that big three-story McMansion that sold down the block from you for three times what your property is worth,” Younger said.
She said mailers will be sent to both owners in western Jefferson County and those outside the reassessed areas who undertook major property renovations last year.
The home and business values influence how much owners pay in property taxes, which fund public services. According to the PVA, this year’s reassessment added $6 billion worth of property that’s taxable in Louisville, bringing the taxable value of local properties to $85 billion.
“There will be some whose property values go down. But by and large property values have increased over the last year and a half. We have a robust local real estate market,” Younger said.
Owners who disagree with the agency’s reassessments can visit its website starting Friday to schedule an online meeting to contest the decision. That process ends May 15.
During the appeals period, the PVA will open up in-office and teleconference appointments, as well as offer walk-in meetings at the Shawnee and Southwest Regional Library branches. Staff will be at both libraries Friday from noon to 4 p.m., and on following weekdays from branches' openings to 4 p.m.
Starting Friday until May 15, the agency will also give owners free access to its online tool, which shows Louisville property records including recent sales. Younger said the rate of owners who appeal has dropped from 10% to 2% in recent years as the PVA has publicized the option.
Residents 65 and older or who classify as totally disabled can also request a homestead exemption that reduces how much of their home’s assessed value is taxed. The exemption adjusts for inflation every two years and is $46,350 for the 2023 and 2024 tax periods.
This story has been updated to reflect library branch hours.
