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Sweetwater County approves 2025 mill levies; assessor outlines new homeowner-exemption application rules
Summary
The board unanimously approved the county's 2025 mill levies. Assessor Dave Divas briefed commissioners on higher certified values and on new application requirements for the 25% homeowner and long-term homeowner exemptions, including application windows and a Department of Revenue online portal.
Sweetwater County commissioners unanimously approved the county's 2025 mill levies after Assessor Dave Divas reported final valuations and described new procedures for homeowner tax exemptions.
Why it matters: The mill-levy approval locks in property tax rates the county will use for 2025 collections. Divas said certified values were slightly higher than budget estimates but not materially different and that the county will submit levies to the State Board of Equalization for confirmation.
Details of valuation and levies: Divas told commissioners the certified taxable value used for the tax roll will be about $2.313 billion, modestly higher than the value used for budgeting. He estimated the difference would yield roughly $450,000 more in revenue than his conservative estimate.
Homeowner exemptions and application rules: Divas briefed the board on changes to the homeowner exemption program under recent state law. He said the Department of Revenue created an online portal to receive applications and that the county and treasurer will attach application instructions to tax bills to improve outreach and reduce postage costs.
He said two different exemptions have separate application windows: the 25% homeowner exemption (owner-occupied) will be open October 1 through February 1; the long-term homeowner exemption renewal window will be October 1 through the fourth Monday in May (May 26). Divas said last year's recipients of the long-term exemption must reapply on a department-prescribed form.
Discussion vs. decision: Commissioners approved the mill levies by motion and vote; they did not take any separate action on outreach but asked staff to run public education and to coordinate with treasurer Cowan and senior centers to assist applicants.
Quotes: Assessor Dave Divas: "We will send a report into the State Board of Equalization to confirm that no one's over their maximum allowance and should have approval from them shortly." Divas said the Department of Revenue's online portal will streamline a workload that had been estimated at roughly 170,000 applications statewide.
Ending: The board approved the levy resolution; staff said they would begin outreach to help residents apply for the new owner-occupancy-based exemptions and include renewal forms with tax bills where feasible.
