Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — It's that time of the year again. Property owners will be getting their notice of valuations this week in the mail and have until June 1 to challenge or appeal those valuations. Letters must be postmarked by May 29.

The valuations are very important because the value of one's property is one of the factors determining how much property tax a person pays.

Tax Assessor Amy Williams wanted to remind property owners that the notices have a valuation date of June 30, 2000.

"In other words, what would your property have been worth on June 30, 2000," Williams explained.

However, Williams said there has been a holdup in new-construction valuations.

"Due to volume and workload, we were not able to get new construction handled in time to show those values," Williams said.

While properties with new construction will receive a valuation this week, a more correct notice will be sent out in September.

Williams estimates about 10 percent of property owners tend to protest their valuations. She said this will translate to between 2,500 and 3,000 people.

As for how many people win an appeal, she said that varies greatly.

"I could say anywhere from 30 to 60 percent, depending upon the year and the volume," Williams said.

Residential properties such as homes, townhomes, mobile homes and condos will have a lower assessment rate this year. It went from 9.74 percent to 9.15 percent.

This assessment rate is multiplied by the actual value of someone's home to get the assessed value.

The assessed value of the property is what the person actually pays taxes on. Mill levies are also added into the property tax.

A lower assessment rate might not necessarily translate to lower property taxes. Many homes have increased in value at the same time.

And some county residents might have mill levy increases, depending on where they live.

But overall, it appears many Coloradans are doing well in the property tax department.

By law, limits on revenue and the TABOR amendment are meant to limit taxing entities (like the county) from increasing revenues.

So while property owners may see their properties increase in value, they may not see a proportionate increase in their taxes.

Williams cited her own home as an example.

"We bought our house at the market low of $50,000 and it's now worth $150,000," Williams said.

"Really and truly I paid more taxes when I first bought my property."