Excise & Equalization Board

The same three members serve on the county board of equalization and on the county excise board. Different roles are assumed by the members depending on the time of year either board is required to meet. The county board of equalization is primarily responsible for equalizing the assessment roll. In carrying out this responsibility, the board is empowered to hear and settle protests on the taxable value of ad valorem taxed property. The county excise board reviews and approves the budgets of some of the political subdivisions within the county, and sets the ad valorem tax rates in keeping with the Constitution and Statutes of Oklahoma.

The Oklahoma Statutes specify who appoints the members of these boards. Each member is appointed by a different unit of state and local government as follows:

• One member by the Oklahoma Tax Commission
• One member by the district judge or a majority of the district judges when a district has more than one
• One member by the board of county commissioners

All members must meet the following qualifications before being appointed and while serving their terms:

• They must be residents and qualified electors of the county.
• They must reside in different county commissioner districts.
• They must not be elected officers in state, county, school district, or municipal governments.
• They may not file for an elected office without first resigning from the excise/equalization board.
• They must not be employees, officials or attorneys for any county, city, or town within the county.

Every four years a new board is appointed. The term of service coincides with the terms of the district one and district three county commissioners. A member may be reappointed. By law, the county clerk serves as the secretary to both the county board of equalization and the county excise board.