Douglas County assessor processing record number of appeals

BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Homeowners around the Denver metro area checked a notice from their county assessors this spring and saw that their home value — as calculated for property tax purposes — had jumped by shocking amounts.

Driven by a costly real-estate market, those home values have spiked since the last time homeowners received notices of value two years ago. In Douglas County, residential properties saw increases between 30% and 60%, with a median of 47%.

Property owners in Douglas County responded by ling the highest number of appeals the county has seen in history, according to Toby Damisch, who heads Douglas County’s property valuation o ce. In appeals, owners argue their property value should be lower.

And for Douglas County, “it’s the highest percentage of appeals in recent history,” said Damisch, the county assessor.

As of early June, his o ce had received about 28,000 appeals, but Damisch expects the number to total more than 30,000, as the deadline has passed but lings still trickle in by mail.

In March last year, Holmes already ruled against the majority members of the school board, saying the conversations held outside public view do violate open meeting laws. e majority school board members did not want to admit fault, choosing to appeal the initial ruling and rejecting a settlement. After school district attorneys missed the ling deadline for a jury trial, Holmes will again rule on the case brought to the courts through a lawsuit led by State Rep. Robert Marshall, DHighlands Ranch.

Marshall is asking Holmes to nd the board broke the law, prohibit future serial conversations on public business, and declare the decision to terminate Wise was invalid. Wise was red without cause in a 4-3 vote on Feb. 4, 2022.

Myers, Peterson, Winegar and Williams said they didn’t support the direction Wise was taking the district, including enforcing a mask mandate and implementing the district’s equity policy.

Prior to the board meeting, Peterson and Williams met with Wise on Jan. 28, 2022, telling him they had a four-vote majority and asking him to resign.

On Monday, Geo Blue, an attorney for Peterson, Myers, Williams and Winegar, argued

SEE SCHOOL BOARD, P4