Johnny's Steakhouse (longtime Omaha establishment) and Cascio's Steakhouse

[djc311]

My family gets together once a year for Easter and has lunch at Cascio's... it's old school for sure, but they have done a nice job of bringing it up to date inside (newer carpet, lighting, etc), but still retain the old dining chairs, decor, etc. It's not everyone's vibe, for sure.

My wife's Italian family would actually go there weekly for dinner, usually on a Saturday evening after church, and we did that for years. That changed mostly due to covid and some passings in the family, unfortunately.

Nonetheless, they've been in the area for decades. Johnny's in south O is over 100 years old! To see this story on the news is rather heartbreaking.

https://www.ketv.com/article/omaha-john ... e/64625164

Although Omaha could survive without them, as anchor establishments in the area I feel for them. Perhaps it's a miscalculation on the assessor's part, but it seems that with the great majority of these cases, the assessor tries to claim they simply needed to "catch up" for missing previous years' adjustments. If that's the case, it's still unrealistic to expect a business or property owner to simply adjust to a tripling or quadrupling of their property value and taxes.

If these were vacant lots that had improvements added, then that's one thing. But I can vouch that neither of these locations have made significant changes in the past year (or probably in the last 10-20 years) to justify this.

Places like Sortino's close down after 60 years because the family is basically tired and doesn't want to keep it open - that's one thing. But both of these restaurants are run by members of the original families and it's disappointing to see it happen. Sure, the assessor has shown a willingness to meet and there's a city council member involved who is trying to assist. However, my opinion is they'll still try to increase their valuations by at least 1.5x-2x where it was based upon some mathematical error.

Honestly, whether or not the business is 10 years old or 100 years old, it makes zero sense to me as to how this could go unnoticed if they're going to try and say it's a legitimate change.

As a home owner I feel we all get hosed on our property taxes as it is - I don't believe someone that works hard all their life to buy a modest home that probably falls within (or under) the national average should be paying nearly $1000/month in property taxes. When something like this happens, whether it's to a home owner or a business owner, it's beyond frustrating and should be illegal. OK, maybe that's a stretch - but it's also a stretch to expect anyone to simply adjust to a 3x-4x increase in their tax bill from one year to the next.

[swgiust]

If an Accessor needs to "catch up", that means they are not doing their job.

If the Accessor is 5 years behind, the property owner should have 5 years to catch up.

But, just because a building value goes up 2X, does not mean the taxes go up 2X. The mill levy determines this.

[ChadJK]

But, just because a building value goes up 2X, does not mean the taxes go up 2X. The mill levy determines this.

Isn't there some rule that the tax assessed value of a property must be within a certain percentage of the market value?

[djc311]

But, just because a building value goes up 2X, does not mean the taxes go up 2X. The mill levy determines this.

Isn't there some rule that the tax assessed value of a property must be within a certain percentage of the market value?

Definitely - and with that being said, I can't see how both of those properties theoretically increased 3x-4x in a year's time. Not to bash the restaurants, but neither are on sacred ground that's highly sought after for new development.

There hasn't been any significant land improvements or other changes made that should impact their valuations like this.

Hopefully they find out it was a mistake, but it's odd two similar situations exist if it wasn't intentional.

[bbinks]

Commercial real estate has not been assessed at the same pace as residential. They definitely needed an increase, but not what was levied.

[OverlookedFarm]

If an Accessor needs to "catch up", that means they are not doing their job.

If the Accessor is 5 years behind, the property owner should have 5 years to catch up.

But, just because a building value goes up 2X, does not mean the taxes go up 2X. The mill levy determines this.

The DC assessor hasn't been doing their job for years. That's why we're in the predicament we're in. This is why Battiatio was under so much fire before she stepped aside. They are under heat by the state to get the max increase allowed by state law to "catch up".

Property tax is completely out of control, especially in Nebraska. Well past time for it to be outlawed. It's basically a reverse mortgage on your property in most situations.