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SUMMIT COUNTY — The deadline for appeals of the county’s real-estate valuations has passed, but the assessor’s office is still processing a backlog of last-minute challenges that poured in via fax and through the mail up to the June 1 deadline.
By the time all is said and done, close to 5,000 property owners will have filed an appeal, according to county assessor Beverly Breakstone. That’s about 15 percent of county property owners, the highest number ever.
“We’ll accept any appeals that come in the mail as long as they’re post-marked on or before June 1,” Breakstone said. As of Tuesday morning, the county had processed 4,248 appeals, with about 500 still waiting to be logged in, she said.
The county sent out a total of 32,665 valuations. That means about 28,000 property owners in the county chose not to challenge the county’s valuation of their property. This year’s round of valuations is drawing criticism from some property owners concerned the increased valuations will lead to higher taxes.
Given the lack of appreciation in home and property values during the past year, some people who have challenged the valuations claim the increases are out of line with the realities of today’s real-estate market.
Other property owners have based their appeals on specific information related to the value of their homes.
County officials have previously explained that the timing of the valuations is spelled out by state law. The values are determined by a computer formula based on sales of comparable properties during an 18-month span that ended last year — before the real- estate market turned downward.
Once all the appeals are processed, the county assessor must respond to each claim by June 30. For property owners still unhappy with the valuations, the next step is to file an appeal to be heard by the County Board of Equalization.
Breakstone said the county commissioners will choose three people from the community with the experience needed to serve on the board. Those hearings are set to begin July 1 and run through Aug. 3.
Once the county’s total valuations are established, the information will be compiled by the county treasurer and passed along to more than 30 different taxing entities, including water, sewer and various municipal districts.
The governing boards of those bodies will meet later in the year to set mil levy rates based on the total assessed value of the county’s privately owned real estate.
By the time all is said and done, close to 5,000 property owners will have filed an appeal, according to county assessor Beverly Breakstone. That’s about 15 percent of county property owners, the highest number ever.
“We’ll accept any appeals that come in the mail as long as they’re post-marked on or before June 1,” Breakstone said. As of Tuesday morning, the county had processed 4,248 appeals, with about 500 still waiting to be logged in, she said.
The county sent out a total of 32,665 valuations. That means about 28,000 property owners in the county chose not to challenge the county’s valuation of their property. This year’s round of valuations is drawing criticism from some property owners concerned the increased valuations will lead to higher taxes.
Given the lack of appreciation in home and property values during the past year, some people who have challenged the valuations claim the increases are out of line with the realities of today’s real-estate market.
Other property owners have based their appeals on specific information related to the value of their homes.
County officials have previously explained that the timing of the valuations is spelled out by state law. The values are determined by a computer formula based on sales of comparable properties during an 18-month span that ended last year — before the real- estate market turned downward.
Once all the appeals are processed, the county assessor must respond to each claim by June 30. For property owners still unhappy with the valuations, the next step is to file an appeal to be heard by the County Board of Equalization.
Breakstone said the county commissioners will choose three people from the community with the experience needed to serve on the board. Those hearings are set to begin July 1 and run through Aug. 3.
Once the county’s total valuations are established, the information will be compiled by the county treasurer and passed along to more than 30 different taxing entities, including water, sewer and various municipal districts.
The governing boards of those bodies will meet later in the year to set mil levy rates based on the total assessed value of the county’s privately owned real estate.
Windfall?
For Keystone homeowner Paul Siegert, the concern is that the increased valuations could lead to a huge windfall for some of the districts and an unexpected burden for taxpayers.“Generally speaking, when assessed values change, it’s supposed to have a neutral effect on taxes,” Siegert said, referring to Colorado’s TABOR amendment, which caps local government revenue growth according to a formula based mainly on inflation and cost-of-living increases.
Each of those taxing entities will make independent decisions on their mil levies.
The disconnect between the county’s valuations and the subsequent decisions by those districts is also of concern to Siegert.
“It’s unrealistic to expect taxpayers to go around to each taxing entity,” Siegert said. “There needs to be some central repository for information.”
Breckenridge attorney Jay Bauer said he expects the various taxing districts will lower their mil levies this fall, simply because they will be forced to do so by TABOR.
“All the taxing entities are bound by TABOR,” Bauer said.
But declining sales-tax revenues are another factor, according to Breakstone. Taxing districts could look to the property tax mil levies to make up any shortfalls.
The state-mandated cap on local government revenue growth does not apply to the biggest recipients of property tax dollars: school districts. Those are exempt under a separate state law, said Bauer, who has filed numerous valuation appeals.
Bauer said the next few months — before the mil levies are set — offer a chance for public dialogue with the school district. Overall, Bauer said he thinks the county does a pretty good job of determining valuations within the formula and guidelines set by state law. But he said that, given the sheer number of calculations, there are bound to be some mistakes. That’s where the appeal process is useful, he said.
“This is a time the average citizen can focus on this one issue. Every once in a while, you have to pay attention. This is one of those times,” Bauer said.
Bob Berwyn can be reached at (970) 331-5996, or at bberwyn@summitdaily.com.
