Property values could face additional scrutiny

By Dan MacArthur
North Forty News

The county's property assessment process will likely undergo an assessment itself by a task force poised to review the contentious current system and recommend improvements.

The Larimer County Commissioners on Sept. 6 are expected to approve participation in the joint effort with assessor Larry Johnson. They will appoint a group to independently review the process that has provoked much anger among 14,679 property tax protesters this year.

The commissioners and Johnson are undertaking the review despite criticism from former assessor Steve Miller, who challenged its propriety and potential for conflict of interest.

In an Aug. 10 letter to the commissioners, Miller insisted that the commissioners should not in any way be involved in such a task force. "The county assessor is an independent constitutional officer and independently elected," Miller wrote. "The involvement of the board in these matters would only serve to compromise the assessor's independence."

In another letter following the commissioners' Aug. 16 decision to take part in the process, Miller was more forceful. "The assessor is independent and accountable to the citizens," he wrote, "The assessor should never be seen as being in partnership (or 'cahoots') with any taxing authority."

Miller contended that the commissioners had no authority to be involved in the process and, "since the board sits as the county board of equalization in property assessment appeals, the board may have a conflict of interest participating in such a task force."

Johnson disagreed. If the task force review is to be credible it must be a joint effort independent of the assessor's office, he insisted. Johnson dismissed Miller's comments as posturing by a candidate he expects to challenge him for re-election.

While declining to be openly critical, Johnson said he inherited many of the office's current difficulties from his predecessor. Miller, he suggested, actually opposes creation of the task force for fear it will reveal his earlier deficiencies.

Miller, in an interview, responded that he's made no decision about seeking the office he was term-limited from in 2002. He insisted he is concerned about only the conflict of interest and independence of assessor's office.

"I don't think it does anybody any good for the assessor asking to borrow a cup of credibility," Miller said.

County manager Frank Lancaster said he believes the joint task force makes sense. "In reality all elected officials need to work together to benefit the citizens of Larimer County," he said.

"Finally there's going to be something that makes the process better," said Gerry Horak. A former Fort Collins mayor and likely candidate for county commissioner, Horak in July organized a group called Fair Assessment Reform group to fix what he then characterized as a broken property assessment process.

"I was pretty encouraged actually," Horak, said, calling Johnson a "pretty common-sense, reasonable person."

Horak said he plans to apply to join the task force. He wants it to look at ways the assessment process can be more consistent, understandable and "transparent" to the public. Horak also wants it to evaluate ways technology can be used to streamline the process and relieve demands on the office staff.

Johnson said he welcomes the task force or any other scrutiny and believes it will only confirm his contention that much of the office's troubles stem from understaffing. He said the office's 51 employees have not increased since 1994. Back then there were 110,036 assessable properties or equipment in the county; today there are 156,559.

"My staff is choking to death, and it is not going to change until we get some relief," said Johnson.

As a result of the staffing shortfall, Johnson said, when he took office new construction was not actually being measured to determine its size, vacant lands had not been appraised for 10 years and the values of remodeling and additions had not been updated since 1985.

All those accumulated inaccuracies, Johnson said, tainted the database used by the modeling firm that determined this year's assessed valuations. "It all has to be done through statistics. That's why your database has to be clean," he explained.

Despite it all, Johnson contends, "we've turned the corner" with the number of protests declining even though Larimer County still leads the state.

By the numbers

Counties in Colorado reappraise property every two years. In Larimer County this year, property owners filed 14,679 protests, representing 11 percent of the 134,100 parcels of real estate in the county.

In 2003, the previous reassessment year, 17,217 protests were filed, representing 14 percent of 127,292 parcels at that time.

Of those figures, 12,871 of the 2005 protests were for residential properties, representing nearly 11.5 percent of the total number of residential properties. In 2003, the 15,375 residential protests represented 15 percent of the total.

Of this year's protests, county assessor Larry Johnson said, 9,445--or 64 percent--were adjusted.