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Montezuma County treasurer warns split school tax statements will raise questions; tax-sales and investment update given
Summary
County Treasurer Ellen told commissioners the upcoming separation of school taxes on property statements will generate public questions, updated commissioners on investments and tax-sale activity, and noted changes to the treasurer—s-deed process following a U.S. Supreme Court decision and Colorado implementation.
Montezuma County Treasurer Ellen told the Board of County Commissioners on Aug. 11 that the separation of school-related levies on next year—s property tax statements will likely generate many public questions and requested the county plan community outreach.
Ellen said the county has been manually posting online tax materials this year while it works with outside vendors to update its online systems and that "we actually posted them all manually this year and went pretty well." She said sample tax statements showing a separated school line item and an overall estimated tax are "a little crazy" and warned the lack of a clear breakdown could alarm property owners.
The treasurer said most early calls about valuation and tax estimates occurred soon after the valuation notices went out and that the sharp increase in estimated taxes is driven largely by school levies and by the state not backfilling school funding. "You look at that estimated tax for next year, and you can't see any kind of breakdown. You just see an estimated tax, and it's kinda scary," she said.
The treasurer also gave a brief update on county investments and tax-sale activity. She reported the county holds most short-term funds in the Colorado Local Government Investment Pool (referred to in discussion as "call of trust") with an average yield near 4.3% and that overall investable balances are lower than a year ago. On tax-sales, she said the county sends roughly 2,500 delinquent notices annually and redeems about half before sale, and that this year's numbers look comparable to prior years.
On changes to the treasurer's-deed process, Ellen said the county implemented statutory changes that followed a U.S. Supreme Court case and subsequent Colorado implementation. She said the new process requires an additional auction step before a treasurer's deed and has introduced a fee of about $300 at that auction, noting the change "isn't gonna be a big deal" for Montezuma County but adds administrative complexity.
The treasurer asked commissioners to consider a public meeting or a future agenda item to explain the new tax statements and valuation process to residents, and to prepare to answer questions during the next tax season.
Commissioners had no additional requests beyond planning outreach and tracking tax-sale timelines.
