Administration
The county assessor is responsible for the management and operation of the Assessor's Office. This includes annually preparing, documenting and making budget recommendations as well as the management of all assessment personnel. The Administration Department is responsible for all administrative and appraisal functions pursuant to Colorado law pertaining to real and personal property valuations for property tax purposes.
Duties and Responsibilities
- Certifies valuations to all taxing entities within the county
- Coordinates all data processing functions
- Prepares and prints notices of valuations, notices of determinations and other official assessment documents
- Prepares the tax roll for the county treasurer
- Processes abatement and refund petitions
- Publishes the Annual Abstract of Assessment
In addition, this department maintains all assessment records, correspondence, appeals, and other pertinent taxpayer filings and documents pertaining to valuation of all real and personal property located in the county.
Staff
- Ken Musso - Assessor
- Thomas Swingle - Deputy Assessor
- Jackie Headley - Administrative Manager
- Nancy Lindberg – Administrative Supervisor
- Sandra Munoz - Administrative Supervisor
- Gregory Broderick - Appraisal Manager
- Renee Bridges - Assessor Analyst
Contact Us
For additional information about the Administration Department, please contact the Assessor's Office at 720.523.6038.
Commercial
The Commercial Department is responsible for determining the value on commercial and industrial classes and subclasses of property. This includes the responsibility for discovering, listing, classifying and valuing all types of commercial and industrial properties, such as office buildings, warehouses, shopping centers, retail stores, refineries, motels and hotels, storage facilities, multi-use properties and special purpose properties.
The Commercial Department values properties using the three approaches to value as described in Colorado Revised Statutes, that is the cost, market and income approaches to value. In addition, this department reviews real estate transfer declaration schedules, confirms and verifies sales of property and maintains income and expense data on commercial and industrial properties.
Staff
- Armon Goldanloo - Supervisor
Contact Us
For additional information about the Commercial Department, please contact the Assessor's Office at 720.523.6038.
GIS
The GIS Department is responsible for the coordination of geographic information and data for assessment purposes and the maintenance of the countywide geographic information systems (GIS). This includes the preparation of base maps and the maintaining and updating geographic information on all real estate conveyances, property transfers, splits and legal descriptions for property tax purposes.
This department also coordinates the GIS database with assessment data to provide useful physical and visual aids and tools for valuing and displaying various types of assessment data.
Staff
- Margaret Grondalski - Manager
Additional Resources
Contact Us
For additional information about the GIS Department, please contact the Assessor's Office at 720.523.6038.
Land
The Land Department is responsible for valuing all vacant, improved, and agricultural land throughout the entire county. This department processes newly platted subdivisions, reviews valuation methods and procedures annually, physically inspects all parcels of land for valuation purposes, determines amenities associated with each parcel, confirms, and verifies sale prices and provides current and updated values on an annual basis.
Agricultural Land Valuations
Colorado statutes define agricultural land for assessment purposes as one of the following:
- A parcel of land, whether located in an incorporated or unincorporated area and despite the uses for which the land is zoned, that was used the previous two years and presently is used as a farm or ranch or is being restored through conservation practices. The conservation practice must be a plan under the conservation Reserve Program (CRP) or a plan approved by an appropriate conservation district. Agricultural land includes land under the residence if the occupant is integral to the agriculture endeavor and land under support buildings if those buildings are also part of the operation.
- A parcel of land that has at least forty acres of forest land and that is subject to a forest management plan. The land must be used to produce tangible wood products that originate from the productivity of the land for the primary purpose of obtaining a monetary profit.
- A parcel of land that consists of at least eighty acres, or less than eighty acres if the parcel does not contain any residential improvements, is subject to a perpetual conservation easement. The area is classified by the assessor as agricultural land at the time the easement was granted, if the easement was to a qualified organization, or if the easement was granted exclusively for conservation purposes, and if all current and contemplated future uses of the land are described in the conservation easement. This provision does not include any portion of such land that is used for nonagricultural commercial or residential purposes.
- A parcel of land, used as a farm or ranch, that the owner has a decreed water rights or a final permit to appropriated ground water for purposes other than residential purposes, and the water appropriated under such right or permit is used to produce agricultural or livestock products on the land.
Agricultural land is valued by capitalizing the landlord's net income into an indication of value using the capitalization rate established by law.
For details regarding the valuation of agricultural land, or to get information on forest agricultural classification, please see the link below.
Subdivision Land Valuations
One primary responsibility is the monitoring, listing, classifying, and valuing of subdivision land. This process includes determining the:
- Absorption rate for all subdivisions.
- Adjusted selling price each year.
- Amount of soft and hard costs associated with the development of land.
- Cost and market present worth factors.
- Data collection period prescribed by Colorado Revised Statutes.
- Financing, time, and land characteristic adjustments.
- Number of parcels sold.
Each year the Land Department is required to mail to each developer, builder, subdivider and/or the owner of subdivided land a survey / questionnaire obtaining all required information and data as to the status of this type of land. The Land Department processes this information, develops specific valuation procedures and determines the value to be placed on this land.
Staff
- Val Ferguson - Supervisor
- Jeremy Maldonado - Agricultural Appraiser
Contact Us
For additional information about the Land Department, please contact the Assessor's Office at 720.523.6038.
Mobile Home
According to Colorado Revised Statutes, mobile homes are more properly taxed in the same general method of taxation of conventional housing. In essence, the Mobile Home Department values mobile homes in the same manner as all other residential property, primarily using the market approach to determine the value of each mobile home located in the county.
Duties and Responsibilities
- Maintains and prepares authentication forms.
- Processes the movement of mobile homes in and out of the county on a daily basis.
- Processes valuation appeals.
- Provides estimates of prorated taxes for the period in which the mobile home was located in the County.
- Valuation of mobile homes, mobile home parks and related buildings and structures.
Contact Us
For additional information about the Mobile Home Department, please contact the Assessor's Office at 720.523.6038.
Personal Property
The Personal Property Department discovers, lists, classifies and values all business personal property that is productive of income. The traditional three approaches to value, cost, market, and income are used where applicable in valuing this type of property. In essence, the Personal Property Department is responsible for all personal property productive of income associated with residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural and natural resource properties.
This department must determine replacement cost factors, economic life guidelines, percent good, level of value adjustments and other valuation methods and procedures when valuing personal property. Publishing notices of valuations and determinations, processing appeals, auditing books and records of businesses, physically inspecting personal property, obtaining income and expense data and other related tasks are just a few of the multifaceted functions of this department.
Examples of Personal Property
Specific examples of personal property valued includes equipment, furniture and machinery - such as computers, copiers, fax machines, desks, chairs, televisions, commercial and industrial machinery, manufacturing equipment, electronic equipment, automated teller machines, oil and gas equipment, drilling rigs, forklifts and a variety of other similar property. The Personal Property Department also values the production from oil and gas wells located in the county.
Staff
- Linda Busck – Personal Property Supervisor
Due to requirements under HB21-1110, all pdf documents regarding Personal Property can be obtained by emailing us at [email protected] or by calling our office at 720-523-6036.
Contact Us
For additional information about the Personal Property Department, please contact the Assessor's Office at 720.523.6036.
Residential
The primary function of the Residential Department is to value all improved (buildings or structures) residential parcels. This includes condominiums, townhomes, apartments and single-family residences. The Residential Department values the largest number of parcels located in the county using the market or sales comparison approach to value.
Specific Responsibilities and Services
The department's personnel confirms and verifies sales data, physically inspects residential improved properties, obtains the building's property characteristics, sketches the improvement (buildings or structures), takes photographs of the property, classifies the property, reviews comparative properties, obtains general and specific neighborhood, regional, national, and international data where applicable and performs a variety of other similar tasks. The primary purpose of collecting this data and information is to assist in valuing the property in accordance with Colorado Revised Statutes.
Each improved parcel is physically inspected to determine all property characteristics. This includes such items as roof and roofing, exterior and interior construction, plumbing, heating, floors and flooring, building design, number of stories, square footage and other similar characteristics. This information along with sale prices is used to determine the value of residential properties.
Staff
- Katie Cordova - Supervisor
Contact Us
For additional information about the Residential Department, please contact the Assessor's Office at 720.523.6038.
