Property appraisal appeals slow compared with 2003

By JoAn Bjarko
North Forty News

Larimer County's assessor, Larry Johnson, who was flooded with appeals to property assessments two years ago, said he is confident there will be fewer changes this year.

In 2003, the county fielded more than 17,000 protests. Johnson said recently, however, that his goal is that they do not exceed 10,000 this year. The deadline for property owners to file a protest is 4:30 p.m. June 1.

Johnson called 2005 "a correction year" because the county revamped its computer model for assigning appraisals. "We've got a very good model," he said. "Some properties are going up and some are going down."

Johnson added that some property owners will protest this year just because they assume the computer model is flawed. "We will be glad to adjust properties where we have market data to support an adjustment," he said. "We will not adjust values where the sales data in a subdivision supports the new value that has been established."

Over the past two years the county paid $156,000 to ValueCheck, a company that specializes in modeling for Colorado counties for ad valorem tax purposes. The consultants worked with the county's staff appraisers, visiting properties together, to build an accurate database, Johnson said.

The assessor added that he plans to employ ValueCheck for another two years.

Johnson made one concession about computer modeling. It does not work well for mountain and rural properties because of the diversity in locations and building styles. A future goal, he said, is to find better ways to appraise those properties.

"Taxpayers are encouraged to appeal their valuation if they feel it is unfair," he said.

The assessor's staff will spend the month of June reviewing appeals and send out notices of the results on June 30. Those who disagree can file an appeal with the county Board of Equalization by June 15. The board will hold its appeal hearings from June 15 to Aug. 5.

This round of appraisals was based on housing sales information from the 18-month period of Jan. 1, 2003, to June 30, 2004. Those numbers are available at the assessor's office. Local real estate offices may also be able to provide sales information.

More information about appeals is avai lable at the county's web site www.larimer.org.