COLORADO SPRINGS — Homeowners across Colorado will soon find out how much they owe in property taxes for 2023.
Some people like Jim Bensberg are already concerned as he's watched closely how his taxing districts are adjusting mill levy rates, including in his local school district, Cheyenne Mountain District 12.
Mill levy rates play a big role in the property tax formula to determine how much homeowners owe in taxes. School districts typically make up a big portion of the mills for homeowners in El Paso County.
Cheyenne Mountain School District 12 voted Monday to maintain the mill levy rate the district has had since 2017 of 55.00 mills. Bensberg was at the meeting as they approved the decision.
“I’m disappointed that the board didn't look at this matter through the taxpayer's eyes,” Bensberg said.
"It's not something we take lightly," Board President Susan Mellow said during Monday's meeting "We want things to be predictable to our taxpayers."
Bensberg, who says his home value doubled in the district, is concerned about all of the rising costs. He's calculated the 55.00 mills for himself and says he will see a 130 percent increase in the taxes he owes to District 12, based on his home's value.
"El Paso County reduced their mill levy, [the] City of Colorado Springs reduced their mill levy, but District 12 has failed to do so," Bensberg said.
Assessed property values in Cheyenne Mountain District 12 increased 14 percent from 2022 to 2023, according to data from the El Paso County Assessor's Office. Other school districts saw assessed value increases closer to 25 percent.
Academy District 20 saw values rise 23 percent, and its board recently passed a slightly reduced mill levy rate of 47.86 from 53.03.
The assessed values would have seen a larger increase, but state lawmakers passed a one-time reduction for 2023 of $55,000 for homeowners, as well as a reduction in the assessment rate for homeowners.
"There is an uncertainty we face in funding from one year to the next,” Cheyenne Mountain School District 12 Superintendent David Peak said, "If we were to reduce the mills, our challenges would be uncertain about what the funding is going to look like the following year for the school district."
The concern for the district is reducing the mills in 2023 would lead to an increase in 2024, with uncertainty of just how much money will come in from the state. Lawmakers will begin the 2024 session on Wednesday.
District 12 said it receives some of the lowest per-pupil funding in El Paso County from the state.
Bensberg admits he's an outlier as his home value doubled in 2023, but with rising costs, he's concerned about making it all work.
"I’m on a fixed income, I’m like a lot of seniors who have lived in this area in a long time and the economy has affected my family greatly," Bensberg said, "first thing that comes to mind is to get a part-time job to pay my insurance and my taxes.”
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