The annual meetings of the Nye County Board of Equalization are usually boring, ho-hum affairs.

The panel hears property owners appeal their appraisals in hopes of reducing their taxes,

But these aren't normal times.

The board next week will hear more than triple the number of hearings over those filed last year, an increase Chairman Michael McNerny attributed to appeals due to the sagging economy and the plunge in property values.

Those property owners will have to do their homework. The board met last Thursday and rejected the first 13 appeals. They will resume meetings Monday and Tuesday, when the board hopes to sift through another 70 appeals, which may have to be carried over into a Thursday meeting.

"I don't have the exact numbers but I would guess it's anywhere from three to four times more than we had last year," McNerny said of the appeals. "The sheer volume, it's pretty intense. It's absolutely the state of the economy and people's perceived value of their home."

There were some unusual circumstances presented last Thursday.

Some of the property owners were from out of town, like Marc Tucker, of West Hills, Calif., who complained the value on his 40-acre property at 2131 E. Adkisson St., just south of the proposed federal detention center, rose 1,637.29 percent from $49,472 to $810,000. The land had been purchased in 1968 for $40,000.

"I believe there must have been an error with this property since there have been no improvements to this property, and its still in the middle of the desert. I visited the property this year and found that no changes have taken place anywhere close to the property," Tucker wrote in a letter dated Dec. 12, 2008.

The list of comparable sales by the Nye County Assessor's Office includes the sale of the 160-acre detention center property at 2250 E. Mesquite Ave. on July 8, 2004, for $1.2 million and the resale of 120 acres of it for $6.9 million on June 30, 2008.

The sale of the detention center property was also a factor in an appeal by Rinker Materials West, which didn't have a representative present to argue its appeal of 40 acres of heavy industrial property at 2861 E. Blosser Ranch Road, assessed at $2.3 million, and 38.6 acres of heavy industrial land at 2800 E. Mesquite Ave. valued at $2.25 million.

Gerald Swift, of Dartmouth, Mass., appealed a 443 percent increase in assessed and taxable values for his property at 1970 W. Simkins Road. He asked to be reappraised like other properties in Crystalaire Estates at $22,500.

Swift pointed out, "I am sure you are aware that real estate values in Nevada have decreased by at least 25 percent."

Dan Bender, trustee for the David Bender Retirement Plan, in a protest of an appraised value for four lots at 1700 S. Pahrump Valley Blvd., took exception to two comparable sales cited by the assessor's office.

"These two sales do not relate to present market value because they occurred when prices were much higher than prices at the time that is relevant for assessed present market value for the tax year in question," Bender wrote.

He added, "If anything, a recession is likely to lower values in Pahrump -- which has no independent employment base -- more than in Las Vegas. Moreover, Realtors seem unanimous in their view that when values drop precipitously, land values tumble even more than housing values."

Robert Rylie, at 1650 E. Moon St., who appealed an assessment for property at 2300 W. Avellaneda St., with an assessor's taxable value of $343,014, wrote on the standard appeal form: "No buyers for property in Pahrump. The market is flooded with properties at giveaway prices, very bad economy,"

Harley Kulkin showed up to appeal an assessor's taxable value of $196,274 on a 4.77-acre property at 8921 N. Linda St., citing a list of sales of property nearby that were often speculative. Kulkin said he has a lawsuit pending against Nye County over a boundary line adjustment after parceling up 20 acres, a dispute which would make his property unattractive to buyers.

As examples of comparable sales, Kulkin noted HSLV Development Corp. paid $62,000 for a lot in 2005 and two weeks later sold it for $80,000. A lot purchased for $92,800 in 2007 was later sold for $120,000. Another piece of land Seibt Mortgage bought for $135,000 was resold in two weeks for $220,000, Kulkin said.

Nye County Deputy Assessor Myrna Tankersley said properties with electric service had higher values than those that don't. Tankersley pointed to other five-acre properties sold in the area for $120,000 and $200,000 with the same rocky terrain and depth to the wells.

Kulkin said property sold in 2004 and 2005 garnered the highest prices but values have been plummeting ever since.

"What happened four, five years ago is not relative today," Kulkin said. He said property values have dropped and the assessor's office hasn't taken a dollar off the taxable values. Kulkin beckoned the board, "We all own property. Tell me you could sell it today for what you sold it in 2005."

Oakley Properties, in an appeal over two combined lots zoned neighborhood commercial and totaling 0.3 acres, purchased for $65,000, said their assessment of $159,589 is no longer valid, since the community parking around their lot on 1576 E. Calvada Blvd. was taken away, rendering their property worthless. The property is just east of the Mountain View Casino and Paddy's Pub.

When it came to property at 521 W. Antelope Ave. purchased in 2003 for $37,500, Oakley Properties manager Stefanie Charbonneau wrote, "This lot was a nice, golf course lot. Now the course is run down and the land values have dived -- we can't sell this lot for what we paid in 2003."

She was referring to Willow Creek Golf Course, which closed Oct. 10.

While owners like Oakley Properties responded in writing, using a standard form for appeals, McNerny said they need more documentation.

"One of the most useful items the board would have to consider would have to be a recent appraisal. None of the matters that came before us had one of those. The other compelling item is always up-to-date comparable sales, which is primarily what the assessor's office uses."

McNerny emphasized using comparable sales would have to include "arms length transactions," for example, a typical, resident home owner selling to an unknown buyer who isn't purchasing it just for speculative purposes.

McNerny admitted with the current economy, sales prices could have dropped from the time the assessor's rolls closed in June, which could be a point petitioners may be able to raise to lower their assessments.

In addition, only four of the 13 applicants personally showed up to argue their case last Thursday.

"I understand that some of our petitioners are out of state and they can't make a personal appearance. But I would encourage anybody that actually has a petition pending to actually show up for their hearing, maybe in a sense to give us direction or guidance to what we want to look for," McNerny said.

He responded to Kulkin's charges that the board was intellectually challenged because they couldn't see that the property values were lower on homes today.

"I own a home in Pahrump. My home is not worth today what it was a year ago. But that on its face does not automatically entitle me to have my assessment lowered. I have to produce the proper evidence to support that," McNerny said.