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A Taxing Discussion: Ohio County Assessor Doesn’t Trust State’s Mineral Appraisals

By JOSELYN KING 6 min read

WHEELING - Ohio County Assessor Tiffany Hoffman told a crowd of concerned taxpayers she doesn't trust the mineral rights appraisal numbers given to her office by the West Virginia Department of Taxation.

Hoffman spoke up during a county Board of Equalization and Review session Thursday night at the City-County Building in Wheeling. A capacity crowd attended the session, which took place in Wheeling City Council chambers to accommodate the large number of people expected.

Many were inspired to come after receiving "Tentative Notice of Increase in Appraisal" letters in recent months from the West Virginia State Tax Department, informing them their mineral rights assessment for the 2023 tax year was three to four times higher than it was in 2022.

The West Virginia Tax Department now acknowledges at least some of the initial appraised values the state sent out in December and January were incorrect. Frank Capehart, assistant director of the state agency's property tax division, and Frank Waggoner, staff attorney, came to Wheeling to provide some explanation.

But it was Hoffman who most gained the attention of the audience when she interjected and said, "I'm just as furious and upset as you all are."

"My office is being blamed for this, and it is the State Tax Office (that provides the assessments to the county)," she said. "You need that (updated) information, and I know there are only four of them down at the State. They are the ones who get the numbers - not my office.

"And I don't trust the state as much as you do. I'm just being honest."

Later during the session, Hoffman said she would be happy to provide those who needed their revised appraisal figures - but only those based on "the numbers that SWN gave the state."

"Those are the only numbers I feel comfortable giving," she continued.

Those present asked what her issue was with numbers from the other oil and gas providers. She explained the West Virginia Legislature has established a new system for determining the appraisals.

"I and other assessors throughout the state have had meetings, and we are not confident that these numbers are correct," she said. "I, as an assessor, have to turn in these numbers from the state of West Virginia, and I have to sign off on them. Yes, I have to sign off on them. But personally, I, Tiffany Hoffman, am not sure about these numbers."

"The state is telling me they are right. I have to sign off on what the state gives me."

Hoffman added she is not allowed to challenge the numbers, but is nevertheless supposed to defend them.

She continued that it was not Capehart, Waggoner or anyone else at the State Tax Department who was at fault. They are only following state law set forth by the West Virginia Legislature, she said.

Hoffman referenced a bill passed last year that amended the law regarding how mineral rights are determined - which was also opposed in the House by both delegates Erikka Storch, R-Ohio, and Shawn Fluharty, D-Ohio.

She offered to meet individually with taxpayers who had questions if they wait until Tuesday and call 304-234-3626 to set up an appointment.

Capehart told the crowd the initial mineral rights appraisals they received were based on the information they had received up until that time from oil and gas producers.

"I don't believe there was any intention to send out any high letters," he said. "We are statutorily required to use what we have available at the time to send out the letters."

He showed the crowd a spread sheet available on the West Virginia Department website at tax.wv.gov/Business/PropertyTax/OilAndGas/Pages/OilAndGasAppraisals.aspx through which they can access information on how to determine their correct appraisal.

It asks for such information as royalties received from a well, and its age to determine the well's value.

Capehart said thousands of people have been calling the State Tax Department wanting to discuss their assessment, and that the calls have come in at such a clip they haven't been able to answer them all.

But the office does intend to answer everyone, he continued.

"I, myself, talk to on the average three to four people a day - but it takes me an hour to an hour and a half to explain how this all works," Capehart said.

He wasn't certain that most of the letters that went out were incorrect

"I can't say that a majority went out that way because we are diligently working away at them," Capehart said.

Waggoner added that of those so far reviewed, "half were spot on while half were not."

"We will eventually get to all the calls," Waggoner said. "It may take a couple of weeks, but we will get to all of the calls."

Those in the crowd questioned the numbers being provided the state by the gas and oil producers. They wondered if these were based on gross royalties or what was actually paid to the mineral rights owner.

There were also suggestions that the numbers should be subject to accounting by the state to make certain the companies were submitting accurate numbers. They also thought these numbers should be available to the public.

Capehart and Waggoner reiterated that their office could only follow state code when dealing with mineral rights numbers.
More than 120 in Ohio County signed up to contest their mineral rights appraisals before the county Board of Equalization and Review.

County Commission President Don Nickerson announced the hearings would start immediately following the information session with the state, with the first three then set to take place upstairs in the County Commission Chamber.

One of those scheduled for a hearing, Wheeling accountant Jeff Yourkovich, declined his hearing and said he now has the information he needed from the state.

Other hearings will be scheduled in the coming days and weeks with others seeking hearings, and they will be called to them their date and time, Nickerson said.

Starting at /week.