Assessor: Dolores school bond and state backing drove mill levy spike; county to refer taxpayers to district

The Montezuma County assessor told the Board of County Commissioners on Feb. 10 that inquiries to the assessor’s office have surged after Dolores School District voters approved a 2023 bond tied to state backing.

The assessor described a provision that linked an $11 million bond to receipt of a state grant; once the district obtained the grant in December, “this $11,000,000 bond would take place,” the assessor said. That action, combined with a mill-levy override, raised the district’s effective mill levy substantially; the assessor reported that some local mill rates that had been in the low 30s rose to the high 40s, and said the Town of Dolores now shows roughly 93 mills on some taxpayer notices.

The assessor said district office staff have not been responsive to calls: “The school district is not answering phone calls or taking meetings,” the assessor said, and advised taxpayers that the county must apply the changes that voters enacted and to direct specific questions to the Dolores School District.

Commissioners and staff discussed how the change arose from the combination of the bond and the state backing and agreed that the county’s administrative responsibility is to process the voted measures as required by statute. The assessor offered to send a synopsis of the levy and bond details to commissioners for use in public meetings and outreach to affected taxpayers. No formal action was taken by the board during the workshop; staff will include the matter in the formal agenda as needed.