San Juan County commission orders assessor to impose 2025 property tax rates; residential, nonresidential rates edge down

San Juan County commissioners voted unanimously to issue the written order directing the county assessor to impose the 2025 property tax schedule after a presentation by county finance staff. The action implements rate-setting material provided by the New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration and moves required local steps toward mailing tax bills.

County Finance Officer Miss Martin told the commission that state law delegates rate-setting to the New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) and that the county’s role is to issue a written order to the assessor. She said DFA had extended the deadline for local orders to Sept. 19 and summarized the statutory timeline the commission was following. "The state statute indicates that the written order shall be issued within 5 days of receipt of the property tax rate setting order from DFA," she told the commission.

The presentation explained that yield-control adjustments reduced mill rates in proportion to rising property values from reappraisals; new-construction value is added to the tax base but is not subject to yield control in its first year. For tax year 2025, staff reported the residential mill rate decreased from 7.02 to 6.942 and the nonresidential mill rate decreased from 8.5 to 8.493. The county’s total residential net taxable value was reported as $1,873,873,570.17 and the nonresidential net taxable value as $1,724,187,870. Oil-and-gas values showed volatility, with production net taxable value reported at $471,436,845 and equipment at $106,614,410; oil-and-gas production was described as expected to decline for 2025.

Miss Martin noted an inflation factor of 1.91% for 2025 and said new construction first-year taxable value totaled $18,930,370, contributing to a roughly 1.5% growth in the residential tax base. She also reminded the commission of statutory dates: the assessor must deliver the property tax schedule to the county treasurer by Oct. 1, and the treasurer must mail tax bills no later than Nov. 1, citing the applicable New Mexico statutes.

Commissioners made and seconded a motion to issue the order to the assessor; the commission voted verbally, "All in favor? Any opposition? Hearing none motion carries." The written order was therefore issued to the county assessor as the formal next step.

Why it matters: the changes were small but affect local tax bills and reflect the yield-control formula and local growth in residential property values. County staff emphasized that oil-and-gas valuations remain volatile and that gross-receipts taxes and grants are major revenue sources that help keep San Juan County’s mill rate relatively low.

Implementation details and next steps: staff said the assessor will prepare the property tax schedule for delivery to the treasurer by Oct. 1, after which the treasurer will mail bills by Nov. 1. The commission retained the remaining county mill authority (report noted the county may impose up to 11.85 mills and had remaining authority of 0.85 mills), and staff flagged the county’s 0.5-mill water-reserve allocation under state statute.