CONCERNED ABOUT YOUR PROPERTY TAXES?
By Susan Shick
FACTS
1. YOUR PROPERTY TAX CONTRIBUTIONS WERE WITHHELD FROM THE COMMISSIONERS BY THE STATE AUDITOR IN 2022/2023 DUE TO THE COMMISSIONERS’ FAILURE TO DELIVER A TIMELY AUDIT. When the county commissioners failed to account for their 2021 expenditure of your tax dollars, the state auditor ordered the county treasurer to withhold all property taxes from the commissioners from Nov 15, 2022 through Feb 16, 2023. By law, the annual county audit is due to the state by July 31st. After their failure to deliver the audit by the state-granted extension date of Sept 30, the state finally stepped in and ordered the withholding of funds. When the audit was finally delivered on Feb 15 2023, the auditor described it as “high risk” due to mismanagement of funds by several elected offices and departments. Commissioners have failed to deliver the 2022 audit on time this year and recently were granted an extension until Sep 30, 2023.
2. COMMISSIONERS HAVE REVERTED TO FORMER FINANCIAL MISMANAGEMENT PRACTICES THAT ALMOST BANKRUPTED THE COUNTY In 2015. The bad practices started with the failure to deliver on-time financial audits for 5 consecutive years. When commissioners build, approve and spend budgets without audited financial balances, they put all of us at risk of losing necessary services from FIRST RESPONDERS.
3. COMMISSIONERS CALLED A SURPRISE MEETING AND REQUESTED ELBERT COUNTY’S FIRST RESPONDERS CONSIDER LOWERING THEIR MILL LEVY TAX AMOUNTS! Under the guise of “helping to alleviate some of your high property tax bills” the commissioners asked our fire departments to cut back on services and then launched into an attack on the proposed November state ballot initiative called Proposition HH. The commissioners and special district managers of Independence, Spring Valley Ranch, Elkhorn Ranch, Ritoro, etc, did not offer to lower their property tax mill levies at all.
Contact your commissioners and tell them to act responsibly with your tax dollars by providing an on-time audit that is not high risk and a budget that affords all other elected officials and departments the tools to provide required and desired services. Tell them you will not tolerate a reduction in services from our first responders through a reduced mill levy. Tell them to Show YOU the Money…NOW!
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Commissioner District 1: chris.richardson@elbertcounty-co.gov 303-621-3132
Commissioner District 2: dallas.schroeder@elbertcounty-co.gov 303-621-3139
Commissioner District 3: grant.thayer@elbertcounty-co.gov 303-621-3114