A Denver judge this week dismissed several claims made by Douglas County against the State Board of Equalization over what the county alleged was an illegal move to block it from providing tax relief to thousands of homeowners this year.
Denver District Judge Martin Egelhoff on Tuesday dismissed three of Douglas County’s four claims, saying he lacked “subject matter jurisdiction” on the first two, and that the county came up short on its third claim, in which it alleged the state board had violated Colorado’s open meetings law.
But a fourth claim remains alive. That claim seeks judicial review, or an appeal, of the state board’s December decision overturning Douglas County’s approval of a valuation decrease for property owners.
“The court dismissed three of the county’s four claims,” county attorney Jeff Garcia said in a statement Friday. “The county is evaluating possible grounds for appeal on the three dismissed claims. However, regardless of any appeal, the county is proceeding to litigate its remaining claim.”
The affluent suburban county filed its lawsuit against the State Board of Equalization in January, characterizing its unanimous decision to deny Douglas County’s proposed $4 billion reduction in residential home values as “arbitrary and capricious.” With reduced valuations, homeowners would have seen lower tax bills as various taxing entities’ mill levies, or tax rates, were applied.
The suit alleged that the state board singled out Douglas County for denial even as it approved other counties’ requests for even larger valuation reductions. The county also noted that its assessment adjustment had already received the blessing of state tax officials and a third-party auditor, only to be shot down by the equalization board.
Egelhoff’s ruling comes the same week the Colorado legislature held a special session to address ballooning property tax bills in the state. On Thursday, the legislature passed a property tax deal aimed at stopping a pair of initiatives on November’s ballot.
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