Assessor: Morrow County market value nears $15B, exemptions mask taxable growth

The county assessor outlined a sharp rise in Morrow County’s market value, major centrally assessed and enterprise-zone exemptions, and impacts on certified property-tax levies.

The assessor told the board taxable assessed value was just under $4.2 billion and market value just under $15 billion. He highlighted large exemptions tied to SIP and enterprise-zone agreements that create sizable exempt value—he cited aggregate totals in the billions—and listed individual payments and exempt values for projects including Wheat Ridge components, Cardi Cogen, Orchard Wind and new Amazon data-center sites. The assessor noted that some centrally assessed utility values (e.g., PacificCorp/B2H allocations) can appear on the rolls before construction occurs because the Department of Revenue allocates company-level value back to county parcels.

Commissioners and staff discussed the distribution of payments and community-service fees from SIP agreements; the Amazon site’s first-year payments include a community-service fee portion and a bond payment to the local school district. The assessor emphasized that while market value has more than tripled over a decade, exemptions mean the county levies only a portion of that new market value; certified property taxes for the year were around $72 million, of which the county’s share is roughly $17 million. He recommended continued public transparency (including inserts with tax statements) and coordination with neighboring counties on fee decisions that depend on new state legislation.

The board received the report and asked staff to prepare follow-up materials for public distribution and for later budget discussions.

Next steps: assessor’s office will finalize roll corrections for recent foreclosures and continue outreach to districts and the public on tax statement inserts and exemption timelines.