Valuations on Garfield County properties delivered to owners

PRESS RELEASE
May 3, 2013

Valuations on Garfield County properties delivered to owners

GARFIELD COUNTY, CO – This week, property owners in Garfield County will receive their Notice of Valuations (NOV) for 2013. The Garfield County Assessor’s Office sent NOVs to property owners by mail Wednesday, May 1. Assessors are required by law to send NOVs each year to state every property’s actual value for the prior and current year.

The new value placed on all properties will be used by the Taxing Entities, (school districts, fire districts, water districts, etc.) specific to each property’s location, to set their mill levies. These mill levies are then sent to the Garfield County Treasurer to calculate 2013 property tax bills.

The NOVs are based on information and market prices as they were on June 30, 2012. Owners who agree with their new values do not need to do anything, but anyone who disagrees has the option of filing a protest within a window of time, occurring during this month.

The month of May is set aside in the assessor’s office for assisting property owners with questions and concerns regarding property valuations. The goal of the Garfield County Assessor’s Office is to ensure property owners understand the valuation process, and the steps they can take if they do not agree with their property value. Assessor’s staff works to assist property owners with obtaining the information they need to present their cases protesting valuations.

Colorado law mandates that property owners who disagree with a valuation have until June 3, 2013 to file a protest. Property owners who protest value should provide comparable sales with the appeal. By law, only arm’s length transactions on properties that sold prior to June 30, 2012 qualify as comparable sales.

An appeal should concern one of the three following items:

  1. Disagreement with property value
  2. Disagreement with property classification
  3. Incorrect entries in the assessor’s records

Protests may be filed through a variety of methods to appeal valuations. File appeals by mail, fax, or in person at the Garfield County Assessor’s Office, located in the Garfield County Courthouse at 109 8th Street, Suite 207, in Glenwood. Residential property owners have the option of filing a protest online. The protest form is available on each property owner’s account screen found on the county assessor’s website, garfield-county.com/assessor. In the form, enter one field and click “Search”, choose the correct property, and the protest button appears above the account number.

Appeals must be delivered to the assessor’s office or postmarked by June 3, 2013, according to Colorado law. Although the statutory deadline to protest property value is June 3, it is best to file earlier in the month of May.

Property owners who do not receive a Notice of Valuation should contact the Garfield County Assessor’s Office at 970-945-9134 by phone, or email Deputy Assessor Lisa Warder to receive a copy.