SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) – Property owners in Sioux City who recently received eye-popping property valuations were looking for answers on Thursday.

Nearly all of the properties in the city will increase in their value in 2023.

Sioux City Assessor Tyler Erickson said most of the property values have jumped by 20% at a minimum. Some individuals of the more than 100 people who attended a city-sponsored town meeting said they were hit with increases of 50% and more.

High demand for housing in Sioux City is partially to blame for the big hike in values, according to Erickson. But for the property owners, that doesn’t make the sticker shock any less troubling.

“The outrageous percentage and which they’re suddenly assessing our homes, mine personally went up 30%, but I know some of the people here went all the way up into the 60 percentile. For me, that said OK we need to be able to speak out, taxation with representation,” said Deserae Peck, a resident that lives in the Morningside area.

Erickson said there’s a lot of confusion over exactly what the property value statements mean. He adds that the increases don’t automatically equal higher taxes.

Sioux City’s Assessor said there are protections to help property owners, such as the state rollback.

“We trust that process, we’ve seen it work, we’ve seen how it does take that taxable value back. It’s hard to believe sometimes that what’s there and presented by the State (of Iowa) in going to happen or local government. But it is there and it is there to help,” said Tyler Erickson, Sioux City Assessor.

The state rollback wouldn’t be set until the fall of 2023. County and school levies will also impact a person’s taxes and those won’t be final until early 2024.

Where ever the valuations end up, homeowners won’t have to pay that property tax until the fall of 2024 or the spring of 2025.

Property owners in Sioux City have until April 25 to request an informal review of their assessment or file a petition with the local board of review by April 30.