At their Thursday meeting, the Leavenworth County Commission heard a complaint from Bill Brethorst, a resident of and landlord in Leavenworth County, who said he was unhappy with the county appraisal process.

Brethorst said that of the 30 times he has petitioned appraisals on his properties in the past 20 years at the local level, only three have be revalued in his favor.

At the state level, Brethorst said, adjustments were made to the property value of his land 23 out of 25 times after appeal.

To Brethorst, that disparity showed how uncompromising Leavenworth County’s appraisal process can be.

“I’m fairly astute when it comes to real estate,” Brethorst said. “However most people aren’t. I have the perception after talking with the little people that they need a little representation, and they’re getting none.”

Brethorst said he’d like more documentation provided to people petitioning their appraisals, including comparable data of surrounding homeowners’ appraisals.

Commissioner J.C. Tellefson agreed that the appraisal process should do its best to work with property owners.

“If someone wants to come in and petition an appraisal, it should not be an adversarial process,” he said.