2022 Colorado General
El Paso County Assessor
CANDIDATES
RENEE REIF
Democratic Candidate Information
Campaign Website URL: www.Facebook.com/reneelreif4EPCCassessor
Email Address: ReneelReif4Assessor@gmail.com
Occupation/Vocation: Caregiver, Activist, Officiant
Military Background: Retired Veteran, Former Army Wife
Resident of El Paso County: 20 years
Experience
What experience (personal, professional, other) would you bring to your role as Assessor that will benefit our county?
A retired veteran and former active-duty Army wife, I have a Masters in Public Administration and bachelor in sociology. My background includes military and civilian sector experience, past volunteer experience includes the El Paso County Placement Alternative Commission, the Fountain Planning Commission, and the Pikes Peak Habitat for Humanity Interfaith Coalition Unity Build Committee. Past work experience includes elementary school secretary, temporary positions in human resources at the sheriff’s office and Matrix Design Group. I understand the importance of forging local dialogue, and the veteran in me has the energy and life purpose to serve our community.
Vision
What is your vision for being our county’s Assessor?
My vision is to ensure the smooth continuation of this professional office for internal and external customers, staff and the public alike, and to continue the important efforts of our current county assessor.
Assessor's Role
What are the roles, rights, and duties of the El Paso County Assessor?
The assessor’s office studies the market and collects information about properties to estimate their value, and makes assessments of all properties within the county for taxation. Taxes are then distributed in accordance with the value of each taxpayer’s property (business and residential).
*NOTE: The Assessor’s Office Does Not Set Tax Levies or Establish Mill Rates.
Senior Property Tax Exemption
To what extent (if any) do you support the senior property tax exemption, and if so, how would you amend it?
I will work to ensure that the Senior Homestead Property Tax Exemption and Disabled Veterans Property Tax Exemption programs are funded annually, and that they are improved to allow seniors to use this exemption more than once (if they want to downsize into a smaller home, their exemption eligibility continues in the next primary residence). In addition, the taxable amount of their homes should be reevaluated. I will collaborate to overturn tax plans that benefit only the wealthy, to implement progressive estate taxes on the wealthiest residents, who must pay their fair share to support the society that they live in.
Property Reappraisal
What is your position on the current method for reappraisal of property in El Paso County, and would you like to see any changes?
Colorado Statute 39-1-104(12) Dictates the data-gathering period used to estimate the value of properties. Since the assessor’s office is statute-driven, I expect that all processes, including reappraisal, are evaluated ongoing.
Mill Levy
While the Assessor’s Office does not establish the mill levy, can you explain how the mill levy is established?
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School property tax is established and levied by the District School Boards.
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County property tax is established and levied by the County Commissioners.
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City and Town property tax is established and levied by City and Town Councils.
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Water, Sanitation, Fire Protection, Special Improvement, Metropolitan and Miscellaneous
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District property taxes are established and levied by their respective boards.
TABOR
What is your position on The Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR)?
Like any other legislation, we often see that the results in practice may be different than intended, or there may be other unintended consequences. That doesn’t make the legislation necessarily good or bad. Life is fluid, and so we should be re-evaluating outcomes regularly and modifying the legislation as needed. In the Army we conducted AARs, or After-Action Reports to determine what went well, what went wrong and what we need to change to improve an outcome. We don’t necessarily eliminate entirely if there are problems; we evaluate to see what can be modified or improved.
MARK FLUTCHER
Republican Candidate Information
Campaign Website URL: www.MarkFlutcher.com
Email Address: FlutcherForAssessor@gmail.com
Occupation/Vocation: Deputy Assessor
Military Background: Army and Air Force Veteran
Resident of El Paso County: Lifelong resident
Experience
What experience (personal, professional, other) would you bring to your role as Assessor that will benefit our county?
I hold the highest licensure in Colorado, Certified General, with 26 years of work in assessing property and mass appraisal for the El Paso County Assessor’s Office. I have experience appraising vacant land, residential, and commercial properties with an emphasis on commercial land and single-family homes. In addition, I have expertise helping our community navigate the losses from massive fires, floods, and landslides by creating a system to prorate values (taxes) and ensure residential assessment rates are correctly applied for the years following the disaster.
Vision
What is your vision for being our county’s Assessor?
My vision for being county assessor is the fair and equitable treatment of all property owners. This includes staff education and cross- training, objectivity in the determination of values, and unbiased decisions regarding appeals. This includes deference to property owners when there is any doubt about the accuracy of an assessed value. Last, but not least is I will continue to promote an attitude of good customer service advanced by the four assessors for whom I have worked. These are personal principles I have operated under; and I will ensure these principles are embraced by all who work in the Assessor’s Office.
Assessor's Role
What are the roles, rights, and duties of the El Paso County Assessor?
The role of assessor is to discover, list, classify, and value property for the purpose of levying property taxes. The rights of the assessor are the ability to perform those duties as a representative of his or her county, without undue influence from special interests in other counties or unfunded mandates from the legislature. The duty of the assessor is to perform his or her role with objectivity and fairness to all constituents. This includes ensuring valuations comply with State Board of Equalization requirements, property records are accurate, and appeals are answered based on supportable data without any bias.
Senior Property Tax Exemption
To what extent (if any) do you support the senior property tax exemption, and if so, how would you amend it?
I voted for and whole-heartedly supported the senior homestead exemption. I support legislation to make the exemption portable, thus allowing seniors to move and take the exemption with them. This would allow homeowners to downsize, move from two-story to single level homes, and to transition to a property with no exterior maintenance depending upon one’s individual needs. In addition, the exemption needs to be doubled to be consistent with two decades of market trends in housing prices. SB22-093 would have accomplished this; and I am at a loss to understand why three senators from the Denver area killed the bill in committee.
Property Reappraisal
What is your position on the current method for reappraisal of property in El Paso County, and would you like to see any changes?
The original Colorado Constitution created a system of property taxation based on equalization, which means a class of property is valued equally among all owners using the same methodology. I believe there is wisdom in the philosophy of Colorado’s ad valorem method, which more closely follows professional appraisal practice. Imagine the disparity between two tax bills for the same home on the same street, where one owner pays ten times the property tax amount over the other, which has happened in California due to Prop. 13. The value cap system also harms new buyers by creating even more limitation on purchasing power than already exists, because one must factor in the new tax that will be charged after the sale.
Mill Levy
While the Assessor’s Office does not establish the mill levy, can you explain how the mill levy is established?
Mill levies are established by taxing authorities such as the county, incorporated cities, school districts, and special districts. For tax entities that have not “de-tabored,” each representative board of a tax authority must set the mill levy according to TABOR revenue limitations. The levy will change based on the values certified by the assessor. Growth and new construction or, in the case of schools, student enrollment, allow for a limited increase in revenue. However, the mill levy cannot be set at a rate that would cause the revenue cap to be exceeded without voter approval. Large increases in assessed value may lead to a reduction in the mill levy to satisfy the requirements of TABOR.
TABOR
What is your position on The Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR)?
I supported TABOR in 1992 and I continue to support it today. The ability of voters to have a say in the growth of government spending has strengthened the will of the people and restrained individual lawmaker’s special interest in causes that benefit only a few people. I also support the ability of a community to make their own choice to increase funding for their fire district or pass a school bond issue under TABOR. TABOR accomplishes additional reforms such as prohibiting a local district from imposing an income tax and allowing for the local exemption of business personal property.
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