County taxpayers are still frustrated

Dozens of Valencia County taxpayers packed the Valencia County Commission chambers at the first meeting of the year on Jan. 7, wanting answers about the ongoing errors on their property tax bills.

The original bills sent out in November nearly doubled the mil rate for the county’s residential operational funding — from 6.733 mils to more than 11 — and the second round of corrected bills which went out in late December seem to have duplicated charges for three local agencies.

Many of those who addressed the commission expressed a lack of confidence in the Valencia County Treasurer Ron Saiz and Valencia County Assessor Celia Dittmaier, and others touched on how difficult it was for most people to take time off work to deal with the situation.

Saying he was able to calculate his 2021 property tax bill himself and have it match to the penny with the bill he received from the county, Curtis Winter said he was asking for communication from the county.

“Communicate what’s going on,” Winter said. “I don’t have an issue paying but I want to have confidence that what I’m paying is correct. I’m asking you to communicate and put information on the website and inform taxpayers what’s going on.”

Paul Kinzelman, a property owner in the town of Peralta, said the errors in the bills raise “major credibility and competency questions. You need to understand the root cause ... if you don’t solve the root cause it will happen again.”

Kinzelman said there needed to be independent oversight and reporting on the errors.

“I don’t have any confidence in the treasurer or assessor at this point. They might be really good people, I don’t know. I just don’t have confidence,” he said. “I don’t suspect malfeasance and I’m not interested in punishment.”

Danielle Parmentier pointed out the county’s business hours are the same as her job, saying she spent nearly 4 1/2 hours on the phone with her mortgage company, with the treasurers office and going line by line over her bill doing math that didn’t add up.

“I don’t have (paid time off) so I wasn’t working; I took that hit. I still don’t know what I owe,” Parmentier said. “I know I won’t be reimbursed for my time, but I want people to sit with the face of the impact of this. It’s very real for people, such as myself. I’m happy to pay what I owe, but I can’t replicate the math on the bill ... I deserve to know why.”

The county has created an online Google form that allows residents to request a call back from the treasurer’s office, making it easier for taxpayers to seek assistance without having to take time off from work. The form can be found by clicking here.

In addition, the treasurer’s office is planning to have additional hours on Saturdays. Office hours will be announced in the coming week on the county’s website and on the county’s Facebook page, Valencia County Admin and Government.

The extended hours will allow working residents the opportunity to review their records, ask questions and make payments in person with treasurer’s office staff.