January 1, 2007 - June 30, 2008

Those are the dates that Colorado & Adams County residents must remember when they receive their Notices of Value from their local County Assessor. Residential property is valued using only the Market Approach to value per the Tax Payers Bill of Rights (TABOR) passed by the voters in 1992. The Assessors must complete a reappraisal of all property (residential, commercial, agricultural, oil & gas, mineral, mobile homes, etc) in odd numbered years per state statute. The value established in that odd numbered reappraisal year is for that tax year and the following tax year. The 2009 reappraisal values will be in place for tax years 2009 and 2010. The qualified sales used by the County Assessor in the 2009 reappraisal per state statute must have occurred from January 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008. However if an insufficient number of qualified sales occurred during the time period the Assessor is authorized to analyze qualified sales that occurred up to five years preceding June 30, 2008.

Non residential property is valued by consideration of the Market, Cost and Income approach to value.

The tax rate for residential property is 7.96% of the market value. For all non- residential properties the tax rate is 29% of the actual value. Multiplying the actual value by the appropriate tax rate results in what is known as the property's "Assessed Value".

For example; Actual Value $275,000

Residential Tax rate x .0796

Assessed Value $ 21,890

Each year taxing entities, (Commissioners, City Councils, School Boards, Water, Fire & Recreation Districts) determine the revenue needed and allowed under the law to provide services for the following year.

Each entity calculates a tax rate based on the revenue from property tax and the total assessed value of real and business personal property located within the entity's boundary.

The Notices of Value (NOV) from the 2009 reappraisal will be mailed by May 1. Please review your value listed on the NOV keeping in mind the sales dates that are state mandated, January 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008. If you wish to appeal, you will find instructions on how to do this on the back of the Notice of Value. Appeals for real property must be postmarked or delivered to the Assessor's office before or on June 1, 2009. We recommend that if you send your appeal by mail you should send it certified mail so you receive a signature verifying your appeal was delivered and keep a copy of your appeal for your records. The Assessor's office is not responsible for any appeals lost in the mail nor can we accept any copy of appeals after the June 1 st deadline unless you can verify the original was sent within the state mandated time frame. If you wish to appeal a value for someone else, you must have a current letter of authorization from the owner of record of the property. We do not accept appeals sent electronically or by telephone, we do accept faxed appeals (303-654-6037). However any appeals sent after 4:30pm on June 1, 2009 will not be accepted.

Any comparable sales you wish to use must be within the January 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008 sales period and must be qualified arms length transactions. Foreclosure sales will be considered, however all sales of the same property within the time frame will also be considered. For example there are many foreclosure sales that have a secondary sale afterwards and the secondary sale price is higher, we have seen in Adams County examples of a third sale occur and again the sale price is higher. We are mandated to look at all the qualified sale prices not just the initial foreclosed public trustee bid price.

The Appeal process begins on May 1, 2009 and ends at the close of business at 4:30pm on June 1, 2009. The Adams County Assessor's office is located on the fourth floor at 450 S. 4 th Avenue, Brighton Colorado and is open Monday - Friday 8:00am until 4:30pm. The office will be open until 7:30pm every Thursday night during the month of May. For the convenience of the residents in Eastern Adams County a representative of the Assessor's office will be at the Front Range office of the Clerk & Recorder from 9:00am until 3:30pm every Tuesday and Thursday during the month of May.

If you have any further questions regarding the valuation or appeals process you can call the Assessor's office at 303-654-6038 or email at assessor@co.adams.co.us