Taos County approves 2025 valuation maintenance plan as assessors seek to offset veteran exemption impacts

The Taos County Board of Commissioners approved the assessor’s 2025 valuation maintenance plan on May 12, after a departmental presentation that described reappraisal activity in Red River and the Town of Taos, the fiscal effects of recent veterans exemptions and planned valuation‑maintenance work to offset those effects.

Interim Chief Appraiser Daniel Rayel and senior assessment specialist Helena Romero presented the report, and GIS coordinator Eric Montoya summarized mapping and software work. Rayel told commissioners the county absorbed a reported full‑value loss of $19,652,901 tied to a constitutional change increasing the standard veterans exemption, and that valuation maintenance work helped offset prior losses.

Why it matters: Assessors said constitutional amendments expanding veterans’ exemptions and newly introduced percentage‑of‑disability exemptions create uncertainty for 2026 tax projections. The assessor’s office told the commission its strategy is to accelerate valuation maintenance — including targeted revaluations of condominiums, short‑term rentals where permissible, grazing lands and municipal areas — to protect the tax base and reduce the need for rate increases.

Key points from the presentation

- Red River and Town of Taos: Rayel said reappraisal in Red River has produced a full‑value increase of $47,079,684 so far and that the office will spend significant time on a Town of Taos reappraisal (he estimated the Taos reappraisal could take two years or more). The office implemented a 3% residential increase in certain areas, and staff revalued many condominium units.

- Veterans exemptions and valuation maintenance: Rayel reported the county absorbed a full‑value loss of $19,652,901 following a change that raised the standard veterans exemption. He said a separate, new exemption method tied to a veteran’s percentage of disability will be applied beginning in the next tax cycle and that the numerical impact is difficult to project; the office plans countywide valuation maintenance, with priority on land values and property classes that can be adjusted without site visits.

- Training, tools and fund use: Staff described limits on access to state training and the need to invest in appraiser education, GIS improvements and equipment. The presentation requested discretion to use the county property valuation (reappraisal) fund for items that support valuation maintenance — such as training, aerial imagery or GIS hardware — subject to procurement rules and reappraisal‑plan approval.

Commission action and next steps

Commissioner Hill moved to approve the 2025 valuation maintenance plan; Commissioner Romero seconded and the board voted in favor. Presenters said they will return with protest outcomes after the current protest season and asked commission support for access to training and for flexibility in using reappraisal funds for valuation maintenance activities.

Direct quotes from the presentation include Rayel’s summary: “Valuation maintenance has become vital,” and his description of the constitutional change: the office “saw the Taos County tax base absorb the loss in value that was a direct result of the constitutional amendment increasing the standard veterans exemption.”

The assessor’s office also noted operational items: more than 900 building permits were outstanding at year end and staff said that addressing permit closures would support “net‑new” value capture in future years. The office requested continued commission support for staff training and for use of reappraisal fund resources aligned with the approved plan.