A Kentucky city says Gov. Matt Bevin's personal house is worth less than a county appraisal that was the basis of an ethics complaint against the governor.
The Courier-Journal reports Anchorage officials value the home and 19 acres of land at $2.2 million. The Jefferson County property valuation administrator has valued the property at $2.97 million. Bevin purchased the home and 10 acres of land for $1.6 million in March from Neil Ramsey, an investment manager who has donated to Bevin's political campaigns.
"I can't take a position on this, or any, particular property. But I can tell you that over the long term our view is that the City of Anchorage assessments tend to be closer to fair market at the time a property is sold than do the PVA assessments," Anchorage City Attorney John McGarvey said.
Jefferson County PVA Tony Lindauer said he stands by his appraisal "because our research and valuation department studied and had comparable sales." He said those sales must be different than the sales considered by Anchorage.
Bevin has appealed the Jefferson County appraisal. His attorney, Richard Horning, told the newspaper the Anchorage valuation "appears to be much more accurate."
The chairman of an ethics watchdog group has asked a state ethics commission to decide if the sale price of the home, when compared to the Jefferson County appraisal, amounted to a gift from Ramsey to Bevin.
The deed from Ramsey's purchase of the home in 2004 said the property was worth $1.6 million. Ramsey did a major renovation to the home in 2013 before he and his wife sold the home to their company. The deed from that sale certifies that the property was worth $3 million.
Ramsey has said the deed was wrong because the $3 million price also included antiques and other items.
Jefferson County and Anchorage both valued the house at $3 million. Ramsey did not appeal the Jefferson County valuation. But he did appeal the Anchorage value. The city board unanimously agreed to lower the value to $2.2 million after reviewing comparable sales of other homes.
