Legislative Duties

The duties of the Assessor are established by the Arkansas Constitution, the Arkansas Code and decisions of the Arkansas Supreme Court.  In general, the duty of the County Assessor is to appraise and assess all real property between the first Monday of January and the first of July, and all personal property between the first Monday in January and the thirty-first of May (ACA 26-26-1408 and 26-26-1101).  All property in the state shall be assessed according to its value on the first of January except merchants and manufacturers inventory that is assessed at its average value during the year immediately proceeding the first of January (ACA 26-26-1201).

The Assessor must make an abstract of assessment showing the total assessed value of the county.  On August 1st, the assessor turns over to the County Equalization Board his/her Real Property Assessment Book and his/her Personal Property Assessment Book.  After August 1st, the County Equalization Board, not the assessor, has the legal authority to make value changes in any of the assessment books (ACA 26-26-1103).

The Assessor is required to maintain current appraisal and assessment records by securing necessary field data and making changes in valuations as they occur in land use and improvements.  He/she is also charged with staying abreast of all property transactions within the county and keeping a file on all properties updated throughout the year (ACA 26-26-715).

Additional duties are instituted in Rules and Regulations by the Arkansas Assessment Coordination Division of DF&A (to view rules click here).