Beetem upholds assessor's value for Ameren gas properties

Ameren Missouri's natural gas property was assessed properly for 2013, Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem ruled Monday.

Beetem's four-page judgment rejected Ameren's claim its property had been overvalued and upheld the values set by Cole County Assessor Chris Estes, the county's Board of Equalization and the State Tax Commission.

While Ameren didn't respond to a request for a comment, Estes told the News Tribune, "Ameren has stated they will be taking this to the appeals court."

If Beetem's ruling is upheld, Estes said, it would free up approximately $600,000 in Cole County, two-thirds of which would go to the Jefferson City Public Schools.

"We've said it's about $400,000," Chief Financial Officer Jason Hoffman said Tuesday. "That's the number we've used a lot.

"We have a long list of needs that this will certainly help to cover."

Because the money has been contested,
Hoffman said the school district has been writing budgets without the funds. "So, if we get it, it will be one-time money - we can't use it for salaries, at this point," he said.

While no decision has been made, Hoffman cited technology as an area where the district lags, and an infusion of one-time funds could ease "our drastic needs in technology."

For 2013, Estes' office determined Ameren's natural gas operations in Cole County were worth $53,252,400 in the real estate market, for an assessed value of $17,040,760.

"We're required by statute to value everything at market value," Estes said, "and you can't take an IRS depreciation schedule and determine market value on real estate."

Beetem noted Ameren said its property should be valued at $20,498,505, based on a simple calculation of the company's reported original cost less depreciation, based on the IRS Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System (MACRS) table.

Ameren originally appealed to Cole County's Board of Equalization, which upheld Estes' determination.

Ameren then appealed to the State Tax Commission, in a case that ultimately involved challenges to the assessments in 16 of the 25 Missouri counties where Ameren has natural gas distribution equipment and systems.

Last Oct. 20, the Tax Commission upheld the assessments made on Ameren's property in Cole and the 15 other counties.

Ameren sued the Tax Commission in Cole County and several other courts where the other counties are located. Beetem held a hearing June 13 on the Cole County case.

"Simply said, the State Tax Commission found the evidence submitted by (Ameren) to be less credible than the evidence offered by (Estes)," Beetem wrote. "The State Tax Commission is entitled to do just that."

Estes noted Ameren also has appealed the assessments for 2014, 15 and 16.

He said it's too soon to know if Beetem's ruling will affect those cases.