Douglas County News Press December 28, 2023

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WEEK OF DECEMBER 28, 2023

VOLUME 122 | ISSUE 5

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE

OO-DE-LALLY

A new coffee shop comes to town P4

Homes sit in the Castle Pines area in August. Homeowners are facing steep increases in their property tax bills around the Denver PHOTOS BY ELLIS ARNOLD metro area, an issue that officials in Douglas County have called attention to over the last several months.

Local officials want to provide small cut in impending hike BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Setting up a potential legal battle with the state, Douglas County officials publicly objected to a state entity’s move that rejected their efforts to provide a small cut to the impending spike in homeowners’ property tax bills. The county plans to challenge

the state’s decision. It’s an issue of “usurping local control,” said Commissioner Abe Laydon during a Dec. 19 news conference in Castle Rock. Douglas officials framed the state’s move — a unanimous action by a five-person board that includes three Democrats and two Republicans, according to one member — as political. Local taxes are in the spotlight after homeowners around the Denver metro area checked a notice from their county assessors this spring and saw

VOICES: 10 | LIFE: 12 | CALENDAR: 15

that their home value had jumped by sometimes shocking amounts. Driven by a costly real-estate market, those home values — as calculated for tax purposes — have spiked since the last time homeowners received notices of value two years ago. In Douglas County, residential properties faced increases between 30% and 60%, with a median of 47%. The high increase in property values means families’ property tax bills could jump up next year.

2023 REWIND A look at the year in photos

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FINANCIAL ADVICE Preparing for the new year

SEE TAX, P2

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