Kingfisher County Treasurer Robin Rother distributed four years worth of property taxes disputed by DCP Operating Co. after the county reached a negotiated settlement with the company last month.

More than $2,755,084 in ad valorem taxes paid by the company under protest during tax years 2015-18 had been sitting in an interest-bearing escrow account until the settlement was reached.

DCP has challenged its property valuation each year and filed lawsuits in Kingfisher County District Court appealing what it saw as unfavorable decisions by the county Board of Adjustment to uphold the county’s valuations.

Lawsuits filed for each of those years were consolidated into a single journal entry when the company and county were finally able to reach a mediated agreement on valuation – totals that ended up being about 21% less than what the county proposed, but more than twice DCP’s request.

Of the $2.7 million held in escrow, $847,530 was refunded to DCP, plus another $1,708.10 in interest, for a total of $849,238.10.

The remaining $1,908,403.89 was distributed among the school districts and other county entities which are statutory beneficiaries of county ad valorem taxes.

School districts in which real and personal property is located receive the lion’s share of the ad valorem tax, 83.2%, with the county general fund receiving 13.8%, the county health department 2.8% and the local emergency medical (ambulance) district 0.2%.

More than $1.58 million allocated to county schools from the DCP settlement was distributed as part of their October apportionments.

However, because the county’s accounting program figured those totals automatically and lumped the settlement money together with each school’s regular monthly tax check, the exact amount distributed to each school wasn’t available.

Protested funds held in escrow for DCP’s 2019 ad valorem taxes also are expected to be released and distributed soon, according to that year’s negotiated valuation.

Resolution of the DCP tax appeals still leaves about $3.1 million in ad valorem taxes in escrow, subject to unresolved protests by Kingfi sher Wind, located in southern Kingfisher County, and Red Dirt Wind in the north part of the county.

Property valuations for ad valorem tax purposes are currently determined on a county-by-county basis, which sometimes creates inconsistent results for energy infrastructures which cross county lines, such as oil and gas pipelines or wind farms.

An interim legislative study involving input from all stakeholders has been looking at the possibility of legislation that would establish standardized energy property valuation methods across the state.