Hearings began Monday before the La Plata County Board of Equalization for petitioners who remain unsatisfied with the assessed value of their properties.
The hearings follow a historically busy appeals season for the office of La Plata County Assessor Carrie Woodson. In the context of surging property values, some of which rose anywhere from 30% to 100%, Woodson’s office received a monumental 1,470 protests out of the 33,770 notices of value mailed.
Just slightly less than half – 692 or 47% – of protests resulted in an adjustment.
Woodson said a few assessed values went up – a risk that those protesting run, given that the assessor is obligated by law to assess properties in accordance with market value.
Within the rising property values, Woodson has identified several trends. Mobile home parks and previously “affordable” condos and townhomes rose notably in value.
In terms of appeals, however, Woodson said she has not identified any trends.
“It was really all over the place,” she said.
George Richardson owns one of the 692 properties that received an adjusted valuation. His condo in the Rivergate complex was initially assessed at $667,050 this year, jumping 21% from the last assessment cycle in 2021.
However, the value dropped by $55,000 after he appealed, meaning the value of his property rose only about 11%, rather than 21% as initially assessed.
Richardson said the Assessor’s Office had an incorrect inventory for his unit, which has two bedrooms rather than three, as recorded.
He said he was pleased with the revaluation and said it was a lesson for others: “You know your own neighborhood.”
But Bill Fisher, another protester, was less pleased with the results. His Edgemont Ranch home, valued initially at $1.12 million, also received a new value, but it only decreased by $57,000, which he called inadequate.
“I’m very disappointed,” he said.
Of the 778 protesters who did not receive a reevaluation, 92 of them appealed the decision to the Board of Equalization (that number could rise because appeals are valid as long as they were postmarked by Monday).
The Board of Equalization heard the first seven cases Monday, and will continue to meet throughout the month, before the cases go before La Plata County commissioners on Aug. 4 for final approval.
Anyone still unhappy with the decision may then appeal their case to the state Board of Assessment Appeals.
The county’s Board of Equalization is made up of four members, three of whom typically preside over cases. However, the board’s clerk, Elizabeth Dufva, said the number of panelists might be reduced to expedite the process, a necessary step given the unprecedented number of appeals.
rschafir@durangoherald.com
