HERMANN — Gasconade County property owners will see the value of their parcels increasing this year, a move being made at the behest of state government.

Assessor Paul Schulte Thursday morning said the Missouri State Tax Commission has issued a “letter of concern” to Gasconade County that says property values are too low, compared to the fair market value of parcels being sold recently. Schulte said property values overall in Gasconade County are at about 85 percent of fair market value, but that the State Tax Commission believes the average value should be closer to 90 percent.

Schulte said the state agency’s concern includes all classes of property — residential, agricultural and commercial.

A bump in assessed valuation likely will result in at least a slightly higher property tax bill for the owners of the parcels. But just how large remains to be seen. Because of the Hancock Amendment, a rise in property values — which would result in higher property tax bills — must be offset by a rollback of the property tax rate. The rationale behind the mandated rollback is to prevent a revenue windfall from substantially increased property values.

Increased property values affect all political subdivisions that rely on the property tax for operating revenue. However, all political subdivisions except county government are able to obtain voter approval to waive the rollback, which means they can receive the additional dollars resulting from the higher property values. County government is not allowed to waive the rollback provision.

Tax bills will be mailed to property owners in November with a Dec. 31 deadline for paying the bills without a penalty.