La Plata County’s busiest property reappraisal season in two decades left the Assessor’s Office scrambling to meet deadlines.
“It was a crushing load of work,” said County Assessor Carrie Woodson.
This year, the Assessor’s Office evaluated 38,500 properties, excluding oil and gas. Property owners filed 1,650 appeals – the highest number in 20 years – and advanced 120 of those to the County Board of Equalization, setting a record
More than half were adjusted, largely mobile home parks, whose specific qualities did not align well with the assessment formula, Woodson said.
In addition to the volume of appeals, Woodson said new legislation that extended the time period in which people may file complaints, without assessors’ required response time, further strained office staff.
“It was a monumental feat,” she said. “It took all hands on deck to get that done in the period of time we had.”
Property values, reassessed every two years, are one of several factors used to determine property taxes.
The “actual value” is multiplied by the assessment rate to determine the “assessed value,” which is then multiplied by the mill levy set by taxing entities such as the county, municipalities, and school, fire and library districts.
Woodson partially attributed the spike in appeals this year to the $150 million Durango School District bond voters approved in November, which increased property taxes across the district.
For a $500,000 home, the bond was estimated to add about $14 per month, or $167 per year, to the tax bill.
“We didn’t change values last year, but taxes changed,” Woodson said. “It’s created this effect of people saying, ‘No more. This is too much.’”
People are saying it's too much, but their frustrations have largely landed on the county, which has been accused of dishonest price increases and biased appeals hearings – not the school district.
Todd Rossignol, a carpenter who has lived in the county since 2012, saw the assessed value of his home jump 41% from the previous year, placing it at more than $1 million.
His appeal was denied. At a final hearing before the Board of Equalization, which lasted less than 20 minutes and was overseen by a single board member, Rossignol again failed to persuade officials to lower his valuation.
“It’s infuriating,” he said. “There was nothing equal about it. There was nothing impartial about it.”
Some of his grievances: a single judge, the brief time period and the ruling board member’s refusal to acknowledge any of the evidence Rossignol provided during the hearing.
Nine members sit on the board, but some hearings this year were handled by a single judge because of the high volume of cases, Woodson said. Rossignol’s was one of them.
Woodson said that in many counties, one judge is standard for such hearings.
Still, Rossignol said he left feeling unheard.
He argued that the county’s assessment failed to consider key factors affecting his home’s value, such as repairs, a shared well and other maintenance issues.
“A real assessor, maybe from the bank, would look at all the factors,” he said.
The process seemed so problematic to Rossignol he is now questioning the accountability of the county and the integrity of the assessment process.
“Who’s watching over the county?” he asked. “Where are the checks and balances?”
Woodson said she heard rumors this year that her office was inflating property values to cover budget shortfalls, in common with the critiques levied by Rossignol – an allegation she called impossible.
“There’s no way that me and my staff can manipulate anything,” she said. “This process is completely determined by state law. Every assessor in Colorado does it the same way.”
State law requires counties to revalue all properties every two years, using sales from July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2024, to determine what each property would have sold for on June 30, 2024.
It also dictates that all counties across Colorado use mass appraisal, which involved calculating the percentage change in value since the last cycle and applying it neighborhood by neighborhood until the entire county is complete. The state audits each assessor’s office annually.
The county has yet to fail an audit; it already passed the one for this revaluation period, Woodson said.
Still, some residents are only partially convinced of the county’s inability to change the appraisal process.
“I’m disgusted with the county, because they’re the ones I’m having to pay,” said Brian Miller, a homeowner. “But I know they’re following instructions from somebody. Everybody’s got a supervisor.”
Miller said his property value rose 13% this year. Combined with a higher mortgage payment, the increase has left him with little financial breathing room.
His appeal was denied.
“If this goes on long enough, you’re going to price me and a lot of other people out of our community,” Miller said.
It’s spurred him to start seriously considering petitioning the state for a change in legislation.
“I think it’s a state thing,” Miller said. “I mean, I could cuss the county out up and down, but I truly believe that it starts at the state.”
Rossignol, meanwhile, is debating an alternate course of action. Relocating to Crested Butte has become a serious consideration.
“There’s not a lot of involvement with the government,” he said. “It just seems like that place is a little bit behind the times. And I like that.”
jbowman@durangoherald.com
