According to an old adage, only two things in life are certain: Death and taxes. But on Tuesday, a number of residents were looking to ease the burden of the latter.

More than 15 people attended the annual Mower County Board of Equalization meeting, where property owners can question the value of their homes, land or commercial properties.

“The purpose is value and classification,” said County Coordinator Craig Oscarson.

Some county property owners could soon get a break — or at least an altered value. The county is using a contractor to reassess all the commercial values in the county.

Tony Warmka, owner of Pyramid Transportation Inc., argued that his taxes of about $31,000 a year are too expensive and he’s looking to reassessing the properties.

“As commercial, we employ people too. … Just because we don’t farm, doesn’t mean we’re not helping the community,” Warmka said.

Commissioner Jerry Reinartz, who works in appraisals and was vocal during the meeting, said it can be difficult to determine the market value of commercial properties, because there are few sales to base numbers on, especially in a town like Racine.

“There’s a lot of vacant commercial property around Austin,” said Reinartz, who noted one sale doesn’t determine a market.

Rick Lamon, co-owner of Sweet’s Hotel, argued his property has increased faster than nearby and similar properties in LeRoy.

Lamon argued Sweet’s Hotel’s value is nearly double the value of Travel Lanes & Supper Club.

Assessor Rich Peterson said the difference is because the two are different kinds of property. The bowling alley is a largely open space with un-taxable property. The hotel consists of furnished rooms with things like Jacuzzis.

Not all the property owners were there for commercial land. John Ryther went to the board seeking to change the tax classification of his land.

Ryther owns a 10 acre parcel that includes a house and a hog operation.

However, Ryther’s land is classified as residential, not agricultural land.

“The value is really high,” Ryther said. “It’s almost double what I paid.”

“It’s becoming the biggest bill I have, except my mortgage,” he added.

Oscarson said state statute changed to keep smaller farms from being classified as agricultural land to keep hobby farms from receiving tax deductions. According to Peterson, a 10 acre property would have to be intensively farmed in order to be classified as agricultural land.

“I’m just trying to make a living out there; I’m not doing this as a hobby,” he said. He noted he rents an additional 40 acres and is trying to grow his farm practice.

Commissioner Tim Gabrielson agreed.

“This doesn’t sound like a hobby farm,” Gabrielson said.

Other residents were there to talk about their land. Margaret Condon attended the meeting stating she though her land is value too high because half her land is split by a stream, which means she can only reach the other side by driving a few miles. She also noticed the land frequently floods.

“I just can’t see how it’s worth so much,” she said.

Condon’s land wasn’t the only that has been subject to flooding. George Winkels attended the meeting regarding a piece of land that he said frequently floods since the county built culverts. He said his value isn’t worth what the county has said it is.

“If you think it’s worth 91,000, you write me up a check,” Winkels said.

The board didn’t make any decisions Tuesday night. The board will reconvene at 1 p.m. on June 28.