COLORADO — Newly introduced state legislation aims to give Coloradans more time to pay property taxes.
The house bill would create a four-installment payment option for residents to pay property tax bills. Current Colorado law gives taxpayers the option to pay the taxes in full on or before April 30 or in two equal installments due in February and June. The legislation is meant to help residents who do not pay property taxes out of an escrow account by a mortgage company.
The property tax payment schedule bill would require taxpayers to send in the four payments before set deadlines on the last day of February, April 30, July 15, and Sept. 15.
El Paso County Treasurer Chuck Broerman said, however, that the legislation would lead to increased costs for his office. He said it would cost around $600,000 upfront to hire more staff to process the additional payments and purchase software upgrades. Broerman said the changes would cost his office $400,000 extra each year after.
"We have approximately 300 districts, taxing authorities, that we distribute funds out to every month. We have 15 people that are in the tax collection and distribution side of our office, and this bill would require us to probably add two to four people," said Broerman.
The Pikes Peak Fire Chiefs Council, which represents all 27 fire departments in El Paso County, is also against the legislation. Cimarron Hills Fire Protection District Chief Andrew York, who is also the council president, said his district is set to receive more than $4 million in property tax dollars this year. To receive the money, the fire district will pay about $61,000 in processing fees to the treasurer's office.
Chief York said he's worried the legislation's impact on the treasurer's office would drive up the cost of processing fees.
"If they're [the treasurer's office] going to disperse more often and they have more staff and more responsibility, those processing fees are going to go up. So that's going to be less revenue available to us." said Chief York.
He said the fire district's budget relies on two big property tax checks that hit their account in March and June. Chief York said if payments are smaller and more spread out, it could affect their operations as the wildland fire season ramps up.
"If we spend a lot of money in that time, and we were expecting typically higher property tax checks from the county treasurer, and those lower, then that could impact our ability to be able to send people out and have those expenditures coming out of our accounts," said Chief York.
News5 reached out to Representative Cecelia Espenoza, the bill's sponsor, for comment on the legislation. We have not heard back.
The Colorado House Finance Committee is set to discuss the bill on Monday, March 10.
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