Like a prospectus for the current year, the La Plata County abstract is mostly set for 2016 and will apply to taxes to be collected in 2017.
Colorado assessors are still on the 2014 level of appraisal value due to the state appraisal cycle, and these numbers represent changes using actual value in 2014 dollars throughout the county as of Jan. 1, 2016. The results show strong development in some sectors and continued weakness in others.
Vacant land value has increased 1.3 percent, or $6.4 billion, primarily due to subdividing. Residential land and construction value is up 1.7 percent, or $131 million. Commercial/Industrial land and construction value is up 2.3 percent, or $30.9 million. Natural resource, coal and gravel, values are down 4.8 percent, or $1.8 million, primarily due to less coal production. Oil and gas property value is down 32.9 percent, or $583 million, primarily because of prices. And finally, state-assessed utility values are up 3.9 percent, or $10.2 million.
Overall the county saw the tax base drop 18 percent this year because of lower volume and price for natural gas taken from the ground.
The other taxing entities that service your property saw varying changes, depending on property new construction and the gas wells and associated infrastructure in that service area. The span was from plus 3 percent to minus 56 percent.
This means that service areas that have numerous oil and gas wells and associated infrastructure but little new building construction saw the greatest tax base loss, while new construction areas saw increases.
Next year, we will see increases in the value of real estate properties based on property sales since June 30, 2014, where we have analyzed 4,000 real estate sales county-wide. Natural gas value will remain weak, based on the prices through the first nine months of 2016.
As with most prospectuses, I'll conclude this report with the fact that sssessor's office staff has, again, fulfilled the requirements of the Colorado State Property Assessment Study Audit which verifies that our property valuation and processes are appropriate and complete.
The La Plata County Assessor's office is happy to answer questions about valuation at any time. We can be reached at 382-6235.
Craig Larson
La Plata County Assessor
