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At first blush, some people may think of Oklahoma County as “cow town headquarters,” and in many ways they are right. After all, the county seat and state capital, Oklahoma City, which is also the largest city in the state, is the Horseshow Capital of the World and it boasts the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, the historic National Stockyards City (this facility has the largest stock and feeder market in the world) which features the world famous Cattlemen’s Steakhouse, and dozens more cowboy and Native American themed venues.
Thanks to a series of multi-billion dollar bond initiatives since 1993, though, Oklahoma City has also succeeded in transforming itself into a truly cosmopolitan city over the past decade or so.
Indeed, Oklahoma City is the home of the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder which competes in the brand new Chesapeake Energy arena with tens of thousands of passionate fans and boosters. Moreover, Oklahoma City is the home of the Devon Energy Center Tower, the Oklahoma City Zoological Park and Botanical Gardens (with a world-class great ape exhibit) and a restored Bricktown historic district that offers upscale piano bars, chic wine bars and dozens of bars and eateries. In addition, Oklahoma City features numerous large meeting spaces, including the Cox Convention Center and the Chevy Bricktown Event Center.
It is not surprising, then, that more than 7.5 million out-of-town tourists visit Oklahoma County each year, contributing more than $2.5 billion to the local economy as a result.
As shown in the map below, Oklahoma County is located in the middle of the state which is in the middle of the country.
The most recent U.S. census in 2010 estimated the population of Oklahoma County at just over 700,000 people, making it the most populous county in the state. Civic leaders, though, place the current population of the Greater Oklahoma City metropolitan area at more than 1.3 million people. Interestingly, Oklahoma County is just one of seven counties in the country that have the same name of the state (the others are Arkansas County, Hawaii County, Idaho County, Iowa County, New York County [usually referred to as Manhattan], and Utah County), but it is the only county so named in the United States that also contains the state’s capital.
With about 720 square miles, Oklahoma County is also large in terms of area as well (it is the third largest county in the United States), making the role of the Oklahoma County Assessor especially important as discussed below.
The Oklahoma County Assessor’s role is multifaceted, and includes listing and maintaining the official records for each piece of taxable real property such as land and buildings as well as personal Property such as business furniture and fixtures, business equipment, business inventory, farm equipment, and manufactured homes real and personal property located in Oklahoma County. In addition, the Oklahoma County Assessor is also tasked with performing equitable assessments of all taxable properties in the county. Since individual parcels currently total nearly 300,000 across an area of 720 square miles, this is an especially important and demanding responsibility of the county assessor.
Beyond the foregoing roles, the Oklahoma County Assessor is also responsible for determining the fair market value for homes, businesses and other taxable property in Oklahoma County each year. Depending on the real estate market in the county, the fair market value of these properties may increase or decrease. In case of increases in the fair market value, the county assessor is responsible for notifying property owners in a timely fashion.
Likewise, the county assessor provides Oklahoma County taxpayers with assistance in filing for homestead exemptions and preparing affidavits for exempt properties pursuant to state law. Further, the county assessor is tasked the resolution of protests or answering questions concerning property valuations, preparing and certifying tax rolls and assessments, and making appearances before the Oklahoma County Board of Equalization when required.
The Oklahoma County Assessor also maintains a useful Web site that features a searchable GIS mapping applications, a handy glossary, assessment roll information, notices of valuation and even the top ten assessments in the county at any given time. The Web site also includes links to frequently asked questions as well as a page that explains how and why taxpayers’ property tax money is spent.
Mr. Larry Stein
320 Robert S Kerr Ave #315
Oklahoma City, OK 73102
(405) 713-1200
MicMor@OkCounty.org
8:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.
Oklahoma County is large in size and enormous in pride in what has been accomplished over the past 10 years in making this a modern, thriving and cosmopolitan place to live and work. Although enlightened civic leaders deserve some of the credit for this progress, it is reasonable to conclude that much of the credit is attributable to the Oklahoma County Assessor’s efforts to provide taxpayers with the best possible assessor services. All in all, the Oklahoma County Assessor provides a wide range of important services for the taxpayers of Oklahoma County, and Mr. Larry Stein is leading the way for other county assessors in developing a set of best assessor practices that are worthy of emulation by counties of any size.