Valencia County taxpayers billed incorrectly

A discrepancy on tax bills recently sent out to Valencia County property owners has increased bills by hundreds of dollars across the board.

Celia Dittmaier, Valencia County assessor, said during a phone interview Monday the large increase is coming from the mill levy rate for the county operational levy applied to residential properties.

For 2025, the rate is set at 11.85, nearly double the 2024 rate of 6.817. A mill is equal to $1 per $1,000 of net taxable value of a property.

Dittmaier said when concerned and outraged residents began calling her office and the Valencia County Treasurer Ron Saiz’s office late last week, they immediately began looking into the increase.

“We’ve already talked to the (state) property tax division and they said the (property tax) certification I sent was normal, showing a typical growth rate,” Dittmaier said. “We have a call into the New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration and we’re looking at what the county finance director submitted in our own budget.”

“Right now, we aren’t sure what DFA is going to do, so we don’t want to promise a refund. The best plan is to pay the first half, so there aren’t any penalties or fees. If there is an adjustment, it will be a reduction for the second half,” the assessor said. “If we’re lucky, it’s only the county operational and we should be able to fix it internally.”

Lou Sisneros actually didn’t get her tax bill this year, which raised a red flag. When she called the county, Sisneros found out the bill had been sent to her home builder instead.

After seeing multiple posts online about skyrocketing tax bills, the village of Los Lunas resident decided to look for hers on the county website instead of waiting for a new one to be mailed.

“Mine went up 22 percent, almost $900. Looking back at the assessment (of value) it was only a $158 increase, so not some huge discrepancy in the assessment I’m taxed on,” Sisneros said of her residential property in Ranch Valencia. “(The assessed value of the property) was in line with what I’d seen year on year.”

When she called the county assessor’s office, staff told her they have been “bombarded with calls.” Sisneros said she was advised to pay the first half of her tax bill, but she is concerned and disappointed there hasn’t been more proactive communication from the assessor’s office.

“There isn’t anything on the website about there being a discrepancy, nothing in their phone tree,” she said. “I don’t see there being a correction. When rates go up, that will become the new base and taxes will soar. For the ones that can afford it, that’s one thing, but there are a lot of people struggling tremendously. I’m going to pay half and leave it at that.”

Valencia County commissioners have to approve the tax rates for the county every year at the beginning of September, which they did this year at their Sept. 3 meeting. The commission is presented with the property tax rate-setting order from DFA, which contains the mill rates for the county, as well as the rates of all the jurisdictions within Valencia County that have imposed property taxes.

When the higher rate for the county operational levy came to light last week, Dittmaier reviewed that order and realized she’d overlooked the erroneous rate.

“The non-residential rate is always over 11 and I didn’t catch (the residential rate.) That’s on me. I’ll own up to it,” she said. “I do understand the frustration of our residents. I’m a homeowner and my bill went up more than $600. I did not do this on purpose.”

The New Mexico Constitution limits counties to a maximum of 11.85 mills without voter approval for operational purposes.

Property taxes generally increase each year because assessors are allowed to increase property valuations by up to 3 percent annually and due to mill rate increases imposed by other agencies.

For instance, the Valencia County Arroyo Flood Control District board of supervisors imposed a 1 mill levy on county properties for the 2025 tax year, which is a new tax for the county.

Agencies can also sell general obligation bonds, which are essentially low-interest loans for capital projects that are paid back through property tax revenues.

Valencia County, the village of Los Lunas, Los Lunas Schools, Belen Consolidated Schools, the University of New Mexico-Valencia and the state of New Mexico have mill rates on county property bills for debt service.