I recently had the privilege of chatting with the County Board of Equalizations across the state at their annual workshop, and we covered one item in particular… Being careful with “Social Media Protests”. Here’s why:
Each year it starts out in a predictable fashion—valuation notices land in mailboxes, and the reactions follow quickly. Phones buzz with texts. Kitchen tables fill with questions. And soon, the scroll begins—Facebook posts light up with screenshots, frustration, and “armchair assessments”.
“She paid less than me and her value went down!”
“Look at this junk house—they valued it more than mine!”
Suddenly, the property tax protest season feels less like a structured form of due process… and more like a comment thread free-for-all.
And again: Facebook is not the forum for property tax protests. It simply cannot be.
Fortunately, there is a structure in place for a reason. If a property owner believes their assessed value is too high, they have every right to challenge it. But that challenge must happen within the legal framework: by filing a formal protest, submitting evidence, and participating in a hearing where a referee or board can consider their case objectively.
That process requires documentation, timelines, and equal opportunity. It doesn’t happen in a comment section. And it certainly can’t be resolved in a back-and-forth exchange with an elected official online.
The truth is, if you’re frustrated with your property value, you should protest it. And you should do it the right way. Submit your evidence. Make your case. Be heard in the space designed for hearing you—not in the space designed for likes and shares. And if you don’t get the relief you want from the County Board of Equalization, there is an appeal process for the state Tax Equalization and Review Commission to review the valuation.
And if you’re an elected official, protect the process. Let it do what it was meant to do. Be available. Be professional. Represent your constituents by guiding them appropriately. As we know, not every valuation is correct in the mass appraisal environment, and THANKFULLY, the structure for corrections is hard coded in Nebraska law.
Facts matter, and face-to-face matters. So, all parties should avoid being pulled into a thread that starts with a screenshot and ends with more suspicion. In the end, protests are just too important to be handled thru social media platforms.
Derrick Niederklein is the Deputy Director of MIPS, where he leads innovative solutions for Nebraska counties through software development, mass appraisal services, and digital modernization. A visionary leader with a deep appreciation for both data and people, Derrick is passionate about building tools—and teams—that help local governments thrive. When he’s not digging into property records or project plans, he’s probably outside digging in the dirt at home, recharging with family and farm life. Derrick writes with heart and insight, blending big-picture thinking with boots-on-the-ground experience.