County services may not be harmed by Polis property tax plan

BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

As pressure mounted on state lawmakers to intervene in Colorado’s expected spike in property tax bills, Douglas County o cials worried that setting the cap too low could hurt funding for local government services.

Politicians on the left and the right agreed that homeowners need relief as property taxes are expected to increase this year. Driven by a costly real-estate market, home values — as calculated for property tax purposes — have spiked since the last time homeowners received notices of value two years ago. Since then, residential properties in the Denver metro area typically saw value increases between 35% and 45%, a group of county assessors from across the Front Range announced April 26.

at rise threatens to take a big bite out of families’ nances because even when tax rates themselves aren’t increasing, the amount that homeowners owe increases as the value of homes rise.

If a proposal from Gov. Jared Polis and Colorado Democrats wins approval from voters this year, the rise in homeowners’ property tax bills could decrease by double-digit percentages.

e governor’s o ce provided an example scenario where a $600,000 home increased in value by 30% in the 2023 property valuation, which is based on June 2022 real-estate market values, compared to the 2021 valuation, which was based on June 2020 market values.

Factoring in the recent property tax relief law known as state Senate Bill 22-238, that home would see a 24% increase in its property tax bill, according to the governor’s o ce.

If Polis and the Democrats’ proposal gets the OK from voters, the increase could fall to as low as 12%, according to the governor’s o ce.

But the amount of relief won’t play out the same across the state, and the picture could look especially di erent in Douglas County.

“I don’t believe property tax bills will be only going up 12% in Douglas County,” said Commissioner Lora omas, one of Douglas County’s elected leaders.

Douglas County seniors, from left, Brinda Malik, Iris Pixler, Sujay Potlapelly, Shruthi Rajesh and Myles Rubin received Boettcher Foundation Scholarships, which provide $80,000 over four years.