Gunnison County Board of Equalization denies two senior property tax exemption appeals over residency timing

The Gunnison County Board of Equalization on Aug. 26, 2025, unanimously denied two appeals for the senior property tax exemption after staff and the board found the applicants did not meet the statute’s ten-year residency requirement as measured by voter registration.

Deputy Assessor Vicki Hildreth told the board that the exemption requires a resident to have lived in Gunnison County for 10 years beginning Jan. 1, 2015 to qualify for the 2025 exemption. For the first appeal, involving H. Kahanek, Hildreth said voter-registration records show registration in Gunnison County in October 2015 and that the petitioner was not present. Hildreth also said she had considered the petitioner’s 2015 tax returns and had confirmed with the Colorado Division of Property Taxation that voter registration is treated as primary residency for this purpose.

Commissioner Laura Puckett Daniels and Commissioner Elizabeth Smith confirmed that the date requirement — residency beginning Jan. 1, 2015 — meant the Kahanek appeal could not be granted for 2025 but would, under the same facts, qualify in 2026. Commissioner Jonathan Houck said the board’s responsibility was to follow statutes. Commissioner Smith moved to deny the exemption for H. Kahanek; Commissioner Houck seconded, and the motion carried unanimously.

The second appeal, CBOE R003882, involved petitioner Carolyn Niesman, who was present. Deputy Assessor Hildreth told the board that Niesman’s voter registration changed in May 2015, which staff treated as the controlling indicator of primary residency. Niesman said she moved to her current residence in April 2014 and has filed Colorado property taxes since then; she questioned where the application specifies that voter registration is considered primary residency and said she was frustrated that registration appears to supersede other evidence.

Chair Puckett Daniels read the application language confirming that voter registration is considered primary residency. Commissioner Smith acknowledged that the registration rule can prevent some residents from accessing the exemption and said the board has discussed the issue with state legislators; she encouraged Niesman to contact her state representatives and senators. Commissioner Houck reiterated that the board must follow the law while validating Niesman’s frustration. Commissioner Smith moved to deny the Niesman appeal; Commissioner Houck seconded, and the motion carried unanimously.

The meeting, held in the Board of County Commissioners’ meeting room at 200 E. Virginia Ave., Gunnison, adjourned at 9:04 a.m. The board recorded the denials as formal actions; the staff notes indicate that, if the registration and residency facts remain unchanged, an applicant in a similar situation would be eligible in the following year once the ten-year marker is met.