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Gilpin Board of Equalization approves list of arbitrators for property valuation appeals
Summary
The Board of Equalization approved a resolution designating two certified appraisers as arbitrators for binding property-valuation appeals and selected the list for two pending protests; parties were reminded arbitration is binding and may be private by agreement.
During a sitting of the Board of Equalization on Sept. 23, Gilpin County Clerk and Recorder Sahari McCormick presented and the board approved a resolution designating a short list of arbitrators to hear binding property-valuation appeals.
McCormick told the board that two property owners had requested binding arbitration after decisions by a hearing officer and notified the clerk within the statutory 30-day appeal window. The statute McCormick cited requires the taxpayer and board to select an arbitrator from a provided list within 30 days; once an arbitrator is selected the hearing must occur within 60 days. McCormick said the list became available Sept. 15 and that, under the schedule, hearings would need to occur no later than Nov. 22.
Two arbitrators on the list are licensed residential appraisers who, McCormick said, value land as well as homes. One of the protesting property owners, Edward (Ed) Dumpf (on the call), told the board he believed the comparables provided were all residential and that his parcel, which he described as a mining claim with no access, did not resemble the comparables. Gilpin County Assessor April Nielsen told the board that the two selected arbitrators are state-certified appraisers and that appraisal methodology (market analysis, highest-and-best-use) is applicable across property types; Nielsen said arbitration under the statute requires professional appraiser expertise rather than a natural-resources certification.
McCormick noted the arbitration process can be informal and, by mutual agreement, private. She said arbitrators are normally paid up front by the protester and then the hearing is scheduled. County counsel clarified the board would approve the list and the clerk’s office would work with the protestors on selecting an arbitrator. A motion to approve Resolution 25-107 (designation of arbitrators for arbitration of property valuation appeals) passed, and the board amended the resolution language to reflect that the action was being taken by the Board of Equalization (not the Board of County Commissioners) and to correct a reference that the hearing officer, not the assessor, made the initial determinations.
Key procedural points: arbitration is binding and final; a panel hearing is to be scheduled within the statutory timeline; parties may agree to a closed hearing. The clerk’s office will coordinate with the protestors on arbitrator selection and scheduling.
