Skewed home property values in Mandan will require city officials to revamp their assessment process.

The Mandan City Commission Tuesday tabled Irwin and Marci Silrum's abatement request to reduce their Riverwood Drive home valuation from $326,100 to $200,000.

The Silrums argued their property valuations spiked by $120,000 in just two years.

They noted riverfront homes in their neighborhood larger than theirs were being valued less for city property taxes. The Silrums' home is not near the river.

Their challenge raised questions from the commission whether the assessment process in Mandan is behind or inaccurate.

Mayor Tim Helbling said the commission will vote separately on the abatement request. That still leaves questions on how to close property value gaps for homes in the same neighborhoods in the city.

"From there, we have to take a look at an entire assessment of the community from one end to the other and make sure everyone is being treated fairly."

He believes most of the issues can be taken care of in two years, but the realignment of the city's valuation process may take up to four years.

"We know where the biggest discrepancies are at, and we can tackle those areas before we go on to the others," Helbling said.

He said extra staff will be hired to help remedy the inaccuracies in home values. These will be discussed in the coming weeks as the city plans its 2010 budget. "We're trying to work some numbers into next year's budget. We're looking at transferring some of our reserve funds into the reserve budget so we can at least get started," Helbling said.

He said city attorney Malcolm Brown also will be checking to see if it's legal to place some taxation caps on homes now not fully assessed. That will decrease the shock of sudden increases in taxes.

He said city assessor Richard Barta has been instructed to check with the North Dakota State Tax Department about the proper method of making valuations correct.

"They are breaking the city down into four areas," said Barta. He said people often fail to notify them of upgrades to their homes and that causes in equities in valuations.

"People don't notify us of a sale, and people don't take out permits," he said. "That turns around and gets our data all out of whack."

He said his department is looking at four-year rotations to keep the values more current.

"You'd probably have less inequities because you would have someone going through your home every four years instead of every 30 years, 20 years or 10 years," Barta said. "The last time someone's been in these homes has been 1978 or 1979."

He said he simply didn't have the staff to do a full rotation of assessments.

Barta expects to hire up to two more people to start the reassessment on a rotational process. He hopes to get the northeast part of town done this year.

Barta has recommended to deny the Silrums' abatement request. Helbling said he believes the Silrums' assessment is accurate, but many homes' values around them are not.