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Assessor Final Recommendation to the CBOE – September 19, 2023 – PDF
Board of Equalization Meeting – September 19, 2023 – Video Recording
Residential Value Reduction Recommendation to the CBOE – September 12, 2023 – PDF
Board of Equalization Meeting – September 12, 2023 – Video Recording
Dear Commissioners,
Pursuant to Title 39-8-105, I have both the requirement and the honor of reporting the results of the Assessor Protest resulting from the 2023 reappraisal. As you know, Colorado experienced the most impactful reassessment in our history, which threatens the largest property tax increase ever on homeowners, and led to a record appeal rate throughout the state.
In Douglas County, 33,002 owners and citizens filed appeals on 36,305 real property parcels. Of those, nearly 32,000 were related to residences, including single family attached and detached homes, condominiums and townhomes. The number of appeals on residential property is triple the next highest year of appeals, and roughly equals 1 in every four homes in Douglas County. The adjustment rate for all real property appeals was 37% and 41% for appeals on homes. The average adjustment on residential appeals was just over 7%, and just under 50,000 in actual value. The total Actual Value reduction at this first level of appeal is 1,141,838,853. I request the CBOE accept this report into the record.
I want to thank the citizens of Douglas County who interacted with my office in an engaging, professional, and polite manner, under very difficult circumstances. The current structure of property tax law is not only punishing homeowners for a set of conditions totally out of their control, but putting them against their local county government unnecessarily. Given this, we will continue to search for, and work toward, solutions to this property tax crisis as it unfolds.
I need to thank the employees of the Assessor’s Office for their hard work, long hours, commitment to their profession and dedication to our citizens. It has no doubt been a professional challenge of a lifetime for each one of us. Finally, I’d like thank Christy Gordon and her team for their work in administering the County Board of Equalization (CBOE) as it gets underway this month.
The Douglas County Assessor’s Office will continue to perform our Constitutional and Statutory duties with citizen focus, transparency, competence, empathy and pride. This underscores our effort to take every moment of the 2023 assessment calendar to look for and evaluate potential solutions to the property tax problem. With that in mind, I would like to introduce the statutory concept of a ‘horizontal reduction’ to you today, and ask for your support, and direction, for my office to evaluate its plausibility in our current circumstances.
Under Colorado law, the BOCC, acting as the CBOE, has the right to apply a percentage adjustment to an entire class of property where they see fit, however only where it complies with the state property tax law and assessment audit requirements. Taking first look at this provision, I believe the CBOE, could apply a 4-5% downward adjustment to all property in the residential property class and remain within constitutional, statutory and regulatory requirements. With your direction, Assessor staff will begin to evaluate this option in its entirety, with the intent of coming before you again on a later date with the results of that analysis. With the upcoming Tax Authority Summit scheduled for September 25 and given the effect this action might have on local taxing authorities, it is my intent to report back to you by that date.
Respectfully,
Toby Damisch
Douglas County Assessor
