Rio Blanco assessor reports 9% drop in total assessed value; county finance presents midyear budget snapshot

Renee Nelson, Rio Blanco County assessor, told the Board of County Commissioners on June 24 that the county27s current assessed value is $750,971,006.10 and that overall assessed value is down roughly 9% from last year.

The assessor said protests of real property had been resolved and that 50 real property protests were recorded this year; personal property notices were mailed late by a printer and the assessor27s office has used "best information available" where returns have not been received. Nelson said activity in oil and gas 26mdash; including fewer operating drilling rigs and reduced pipeline throughput 26mdash; drove most of the decline.

Why this matters: Rio Blanco is a county where industry makes up a large share of property value; swings in industrial production and energy throughput can materially affect tax revenue available for county services.

County finance staff later presented a budget-to-actual report for the year through May. Lisa Heeman (presenting on county funds) told the commissioners the general fund had budgeted roughly $10.3 million in revenue and collected about $6.9 million to date. Expenditures in the general fund were about 27.9% of budget year to date, and operating-line items such as wages and utilities were tracking near expected levels.

Heeman said specific ownership taxes and property-tax collections are lower this year compared with last year because of the drop in assessed value. Sales tax receipts, by contrast, were stronger than budgeted owing to large capital purchases recorded earlier in the year. The Road and Bridge capital budget remained largely unspent as planned; capital projects typically occur later in the summer and fall, she said.

Heeman reported that the county held roughly $41 million in cash in the general fund as of May, with about $38 million in fund balance. She said about $20 million of that balance was unassigned and available for future commissioner-directed expenditures, while the rest was assigned or restricted for particular uses.

Officials and next steps: Nelson said state-assessed values (pipelines, some plants) may decline too because of lower throughput; the assessor27s office continues audits and will present finalized protest results and any appeal schedules to the board in July. Heeman said staff will work with commissioners to upload 2024 actuals and midyear projections into the county27s transparency platform in July or August to support the 2026 budget process.

Ending: The commissioners asked for follow-up reports comparing current assessments to prior years and for detailed lists of the most material taxpayers whose values changed. Heeman offered to provide more granular fund-by-fund reports on request.