Eagle County Assessor’s Office receives more than 7,000 appeals of property reappraisals
4,877 appeals have been denied in this cycle
Chris Dillmann/Vail Daily archive
As home prices have jumped in the past few years, so have the estimated values for property taxation purposes. Plenty of property owners have taken exception.
According to Eagle County Assessor Mark Chapin, 7,009 appeals were filed in the wake of this year’s reappraisal cycle.
Chapin in an email wrote that his office answered every one of those appeals. The sheer number required the office to close to the public for much of June through July 5.
Going through the appeals, the Assessor’s Office adjusted 2,111 and denied 4,877. Another 21 appeals were withdrawn.
A number of property owners whose appeals were denied have taken their cases to the County Board of Equalization. That independent group, made up of people with experience in property valuation, can adjust or deny appeals. A property owner’s next step is going to District Court.
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Property values for taxation purposes are adjusted every two years, with people in the Assessor’s Office poring through sales data. Chapin wrote that the most recent valuation was based on “very good” sales data, with more than 5,600 sales during the two years prior to the appraisal date of June 30, 2022. Chapin added that marks the most sales data in any reappraisal since 1990.
The result of the latest reappraisal shows an average jump in values of as much as 70% in places. Since property taxes are based on property values, that raises the prospect of significant tax increases for at least some of the county’s 90 taxing entities.
Chapin noted in his email that his office doesn’t calculate property tax rates. That’s up to each of the taxing districts, from Eagle County Schools — which takes the biggest share of a property tax dollar in the Eagle River Valley — to small districts including the Gypsum Cemetery District.
Reacting to the rise in property values across the state, the Colorado legislature in May approved a November ballot issue — Proposition HH. If passed by state voters, the measure would reduce the current assessment rate to 6.7% through the 2032 tax year. In addition, residential property owners would be able to exempt the first $50,000 of their values for the 2023 tax year. The break drops to $40,000 for the 2024 tax year and lasts until 2032.
