Senate revenue panel hears confirmation for James Kuhn to Tax Equalization Commission

Senator Brad Von Gillern, chair of the Revenue Committee, opened the hearing and introduced James Kuhn, who sought confirmation to continue serving on the Tax Equalization and Review Commission. Kuhn, a licensed real‑estate appraiser with prior experience as an Adams County appraiser and roughly eight years on the commission, told the committee the commission receives about 1,500 appeals a year and frequently schedules multiple hearings per day to manage the backlog. He described common valuation approaches county assessors use — income approach for income‑producing property, sales‑comparison or cost approaches when appropriate — and said the commission must rely on law, rules and evidence when issuing orders.

Committee members pressed Kuhn on case timing and outcomes. Kuhn acknowledged appeals tend to arrive in September and October and described a multi‑step process to create a case file and place hearings on the calendar; he said the commission sometimes holds as many as five or six hearings in a day, which limits how quickly written decisions can be issued. When asked whether the commission tracks the proportion of appeals decided for appellants versus counties, Kuhn said the office does not keep that specific statistic and estimated results are roughly even.

Von Gillern closed the appointment hearing after thanking Kuhn and noting an online comment record included zero proponents and one opponent. No committee action was recorded at the hearing.