- PVAs are elected officials responsible for assessing the fair market value of homes, land, and business property in the county.
- Their assessments determine local property taxes, but PVAs do not set tax rates or collect taxes; those are set by cities, counties, and school districts.
- PVAs maintain property records, maps, and exemptions, and property owners can appeal their assessments annually if they disagree with the valuation.
In Northern Kentucky, each county’s Property Valuation Administrator, or PVA, plays a central role in determining the amount of property taxes paid by individuals and businesses.
The office is responsible for assessing the fair market value of key assets, including homes, land, vehicles, and watercraft, which serves as the foundation for the local property tax system.
A PVA’s primary duty is to establish a property’s fair cash value, or what it would sell for in an open market. Assessments take into account a property’s size, shape, location, use and condition. These values are used by taxing authorities, such as cities, counties, fire districts, and school boards, to calculate tax bills.
“Your property taxes come in two parts,” Boone County PVA Jonathan Brown told LINK nky. “They’re calculated based on two parts: the tax rates, which are set by cities, counties, fire districts, etc., and your tax assessment, which is how much your property is worth, which comes from us. Generally, that’s based on what you paid for the property, if you bought it recently. But in properties where it’s been many years since it sold, we have to reassess the property and put a value on it.”
While the PVA’s office determines value, it does not set tax rates or collect taxes. All PVA assessments are reviewed and approved by the Kentucky Department of Revenue for accuracy and consistency across the state.
Each Property Valuation Administrator is an elected official serving a four-year term. In Kentucky, PVAs are selected through countywide, partisan elections, meaning candidates run with party affiliations. The position is supervised by the Kentucky Department of Revenue, which has final approval of all county assessment rolls.
Although they operate independently within each county, PVAs are required to follow statewide property valuation standards to ensure fairness and consistency across Kentucky.
Beyond determining property values, PVAs also handle a variety of administrative and technical tasks. The office monitors ownership changes, maintains digital maps, updates building information, and processes property exemptions such as the homestead exemption for seniors or disabled homeowners.
Kenton County PVA Darlene Plummer said her staff assesses roughly 65,000 land parcels across the county’s residential, agricultural, commercial and industrial properties.
“We’re responsible for the fair and equitable assessment of those parcels,” Plummer said. “I do want people to know that we’re not the final say. During the open inspection, if the property owner and the PVA office can’t reach an agreement on the assessment, they have the right to appeal to a three-member local board that falls under the direction of the County Clerk’s Office.”
Plummer also noted that residents aren’t limited to appealing their assessment only in years when values increase.
“People have the ability and the right to appeal their assessment any year, every year, not just the year in which there’s an increase,” she said.