Cochise County Board of Supervisors amends hearing officer decision, denies Stronghold Farms’ agricultural reclassification

The Cochise County Board of Supervisors, sitting as the Board of Equalization, voted 3-0 on Jan. 28, 2025, to amend a State Board of Equalization hearing officer’s decision and deny a notice of claim filed by Stronghold Farms LLC and owner Aaron Latowski seeking agricultural classification and valuation adjustments for tax years 2022 through 2024.

Cochise County Assessor Leindecker told the board the hearing officer exceeded her authority by reclassifying the parcel to agricultural status and reducing its valuation after a lengthy hearing before the State Board of Equalization. Leindecker said the county’s review found no verifiable error in the property assessments for the years in question and that the petitioner had not used the administrative or judicial appeal mechanisms within the required time windows.

"If there's a verifiable error, we need documentation," Leindecker told the board, and he recommended the supervisors amend the hearing officer’s decision and deny the claim that had been filed with the assessor’s office. He outlined the statutory appeal process: a valuation notice triggers a 60-day window for an administrative appeal and taxpayers may file in tax court through Dec. 15 of the valuation year.

Leindecker said valuation notices for 2022, 2023 and 2024 were mailed to the property owner and no administrative appeals were filed in those years. He also said the landowner filed an agricultural application in the most recent year; that application was denied on its merits. According to Leindecker, the hearing officer nevertheless treated the matter as an evaluation and classification appeal and reclassified the property to agricultural status despite legal direction provided to the hearing officer by the county’s chief deputy attorney.

Supervisor Crosby, representing District 1, moved to amend the hearing officer’s decision to deny the claim; the motion was seconded and carried by recorded vote of 3-0. The board noted no representative for Aaron Latowski or Stronghold Farms was present at the meeting.

The action returns the classification and valuation determinations for tax years 2022–24 to the assessor’s prior determinations and denies the petitioner’s request to retroactively apply an agricultural exemption for those years. The board adjourned the Board of Equalization portion of its meeting after the vote.