Resident alleges assessor overvaluation threatens disabled firefighter; commissioners say staff will follow up

At the Sept. 16 Adams County Board of County Commissioners meeting, a resident, Brian Ganau, addressed the board during the public comment period and said the county assessor's office was improperly increasing the assessed value of his home, which he said could force him into homelessness.

In remarks to the board, Ganau said he is a disabled firefighter whose annual disability pension was under $12,000 and that the assessor had attributed between $171,000 and $663,000 in recent repairs and upgrades to his home. He told the commissioners he believes the assessor’s staff, including an assessor identified in his remarks as Eric Norberg, treated him unfairly and threatened condemnation or other enforcement if he contested the assessment. Ganau asked the county to extend to fallen firefighters and EMTs protections similar to other groups and said he had been threatened with condemnation if he challenged the assessed value.

Commissioner Henson thanked the speaker and said the public-comment period is not intended for back-and-forth dialogue but expressed sympathy and said she would advocate for outreach: “I will be advocating for that,” she told the speaker. The county manager and other commissioners expressed condolences and said staff would be asked to follow up. County staff present indicated they would gather information to respond and committed to outreach to the speaker to discuss options, including potential state-level measures and county processes that might be available.

No formal motion or vote was taken at the meeting on the assessor dispute. Commissioners characterized the item as public comment; they asked staff to provide information and to contact the speaker to determine next steps.