Record number of El Paso County homeowners denied property value appeal await other relief

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- The El Paso County Assessor’s Office saw a record number of property assessment appeals this year, as home values skyrocketed. But many are wondering when they will see relief.

Nearly all the neighborhoods in El Paso County saw home values increase by at least 40%. Some areas, like Downtown Colorado Springs, Stratmoor Valley, and Mesa rose by more than 55%.

“We haven't seen these higher numbers since the 1980s,” said El Paso County Assessor Mark Flutcher.

Flutcher said his office has to appraise properties based on comparable house sales according to state law. He said the hot 2021 housing market led to inflated home values and therefore high appraisals this year.

“It certainly wasn't normal conditions that an appraiser would expect to see,” he said.

On average, 4,000 people appeal their property assessment every two years in El Paso County. Since 2017, about 53% of those appeals are approved and a property assessment is adjusted.

However, like the home sale values, the number of appeals this year was unprecedented.

Nearly 34,000 El Paso County residents appealed their property assessment, according to data provided by the El Paso County Assessor’s Office. That’s about a 1,000% increase from the typical number of appeals the assessor’s office sees every other year.

“Every county across the state has seen this,” Flutcher said. “It's a record year for most of them.”

The approval rating for those assessments was less than usual but not by much. Nearly 49% of all appeals were approved. However, it was the first time since 2015 that more appeals were denied than approved.

Greg Cooley, who lives in Stetson Hills, was one of the thousands denied.

“I flipped out,” Cooley said. “The prior year (my house) was only assessed at $299,000.”

This year his home was appraised for $444,000 — a 48% increase.

Flutcher said when a homeowner appeals, his office finds comparable houses to determine if the assessed value is correct. Cooley claimed the assessor’s office compared his home with an unfinished basement to homes with finished basements.

“An unfinished basement is not worth the same amount as finished space,” Cooley said.

After being denied, Cooley is wondering how he can get relief. He said he anticipates his property tax to increase by about $600.

Flutcher said those that appealed and were denied had the opportunity to take their denial to the Board of Equalization, essentially another appeal process, where people with real estate backgrounds hear each case. However, the deadline to send the case to the Board of Equalization was Monday. Cooley decided not to go that route.

“They're just going to deny me,” Cooley said. “I don't think anybody is going to look at anything.”

Another option is to appeal again in May 2024. Flutcher said although the assessor’s office won’t be reassessing properties in 2024 if an adjustment was made, it would “retroactively adjust to 2023.”

For those that didn’t deny their property assessments, Flutcher said they can petition for an abatement of taxes when they receive their property tax bill in January.

Other than those two options, the most immediate relief for homeowners may come from tax districts. Those districts, like schools, fire, ambulance, and health, set their mill levies by the fall. These levies are a specified tax rate applied to the assessed value of a property. Typically the districts determine what rate the levy will be for the year to help set their budgets.

“I would encourage them to think of their constituents in their district and decide what's best for everyone, not just the district's budget,” Flutcher said.

Flutcher recommends homeowners attend the board meetings of these districts and ask them to lower their mill levies.

13 Investigates reached out to School Districts 11 and 20, the largest in El Paso County, about their mill levies.

D20 didn’t respond, but D11 said it would not be lowering its general fund levy. They said the increase in assessed values doesn’t result in additional funding and therefore the district doesn’t have the financial flexibility.

“HB 21-1164 applies only to our General Fund or Total Program levy. Our total program levy is already at the mill levy we were at when we de-TABORed, so we cannot increase it further. That said, we will also not be reducing the general fund levy due to the increased assessed valuation. The general fund levy will remain at 20.715 mils until further legislation changes that. The increase in the assessed valuation does shift some funding from the state to local taxpayers, as we will be getting a bigger portion of our total program from local property taxes and less from state equalization. We have no flexibility here; this is all mandated by the School Finance Act. Despite more money coming from local taxpayers, it does not result in additional funding for D11.”

School District 11

Homeowners may also be hoping for future property value relief from Proposition HH. The proposition could be on Colorado’s ballot in November. If approved, it would rewrite the state’s tax system, lowering property tax rates and saving homeowners billions. But those savings could affect TABOR and shrink the income tax refunds that are paid to millions of Coloradans.

“You get the money from Tabor, you're going to end up using it to pay the taxes,” Cooley said. “So, I mean, it's like one-half dozen or the other.”

The proposition is currently before the state supreme court, after a conservative political group sued the state, saying the proposition was misleading and unconstitutional. This could keep the proposition from making it on the ballot altogether.

Either way, Flutcher said the proposition would have minimal effect on saving homeowners money. In fact, he said some people may lose a couple of hundred dollars.

“The tax relief for property owners is likely to be less than they would have gotten on their state TABOR refund,” Flutcher said. “So while their property taxes may go down a few hundred dollars, they may actually lose $200 or $300 in their state TABOR refund.”

Flutcher said homeowners will at least see relief by 2025 when properties are assessed again.

“Hopefully we're either flat or we can actually provide some relief with downward adjustments,” he said.

Cooley said he will believe it when he sees it.

“I wish I had a crystal ball,” Cooley said.