To: Board of County Commissioners
Through: Michael Westerberg, Treasurer, Treasurer’s Office
Prepared By:
prepared
Kim Williams, Chief Deputy Treasurer, Treasurer’s Office
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presenter
Presenter: Kim Williams, Chief Deputy Treasurer, Treasurer’s Office
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Subject:
title
11:00 AM *Multiple Tax Cancellations, Non-PP 2025; Personal Property Cancellations 2025
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Purpose and Request:
recommended action
The purpose of this item is to request a resolution cancelling uncollectible and/or erroneous property taxes ranging from tax year 1987 through 2022. Pursuant to C.R.S. § 39-10-114(1), “if taxes have been levied erroneously or illegally…the treasurer shall report the amount thereof to the board of county commissioners, which shall proceed to abate such taxes.” Additionally, pursuant to C.R.S. § 39-10-114(2)(a), “Any taxes levied on personal property, including but not limited to mobile homes, which are determined to be uncollectible after a period of one year after the date of their becoming delinquent may be cancelled by the board of county commissioners.”
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Background and Discussion: The Treasurer’s Office has identified the following groups of taxes that are considered uncollectible and/or erroneous and requests that the Board approve their cancellation. A spreadsheet is attached that identifies the individual parcels and further explains the reasons for the requested cancellations.
-Real Property: The Assessor’s office has notified the Treasurer’s Office of several parcels that were taxed in error, and either should have been exempt or were already taxed on a separate parcel (duplication) for tax years ranging from 1987 to 2022. These include parcels where ownership should have been transferred to a homeowners’ association pursuant to the terms of a plat and/or declaration of covenants but were never transferred, and/or were otherwise owned by an exempt entity, etc. as further noted on the attached spreadsheet.
-Business Personal property: This particular list is comprised of inactive businesses in Arapahoe County with amounts due for tax years 2002 through 2022. There are multiple reasons for these cancellations, including bankruptcy cases being dismissed; final settlements on bankruptcy cases; businesses being closed; assets being sold, seized by the state and/or being destroyed; property that has fallen below the taxable threshold for more than six years with old taxes outstanding and a change of ownership; and property leaving Arapahoe County.
The attached spreadsheets detail the property identification numbers, the tax year(s), the amounts to be cancelled, reasons for the cancellations, and (for Personal Property) the amount that would have been disbursed to the county, if the taxes had been collected.
Fiscal Impact: The total amount we are requesting to be cancelled is $728,718.55 for Business Personal Property, and $4,538.67 for Real Property.
Alternatives: With regard to the erroneously levied real property taxes, there is no alternative, as those taxes must be abated pursuant to statute. With regard to the business personal property taxes deemed uncollectible, if no action is taken, the delinquent taxes will continue to be included on the Treasurer’s delinquent tax roll and interest will continue to accrue when neither the tax nor the interest will ever be paid. As long as they remain on the delinquent tax roll, the Treasurer’s Office must also continue sending out Delinquent Statements, having them returned as undeliverable, and/or causing confusion and creating phone calls on exempt properties that cannot be collected.
Alignment with Strategic Plan:
☒Be fiscally sustainable
☒Provide essential and mandated service
☒Be community focused
Staff Recommendation: The Treasurer’s Office recommends cancellation of these taxes.
Concurrence: The County Attorney’s Office concurs with this recommendation.