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Assessor warns staffing shortfall amid valuation workload and recent veteran exemption changes
Summary
The county assessor described a persistent staffing shortage and cited recent statutory changes to veteran exemptions that materially reduce taxable value; the assessor asked for three appraiser positions to address workload and accuracy.
The county assessor told commissioners the office is understaffed by design and by practice and requested additional appraisal positions to keep up with new construction, parcel growth and recent changes to exemptions.
The assessor said Sandoval County should have 39 appraisers under standard staffing ratios but currently has 19; the director asked the commission to approve three additional appraisers for FY26, saying even that short request felt modest compared with the office’s need. The assessor described roughly 46,751 real property accounts and roughly 1,000 improvements and 1,500 new parcels being added each year and said that caseload implies a need for an additional appraisal position about every two years. Staff also flagged that a recent statutory change increasing the veterans exemption from $4,000 to $10,000 significantly reduced the county’s net taxable value (the assessor reported a reported net taxable value decrease of roughly $36 million) and reduced revenue (the assessor cited about $2.5 million in operations revenue impact and about $400,000 in debt service impact).
The assessor urged the commission to treat the request as a revenue-protection and accuracy investment because undercounting or delays in valuation work can shift tax burden to other taxpayers. The commission did not make an immediate staffing decision; staff acknowledged the assessor’s request and said it will be considered in the preliminary budget process.
