Los Alamos County Assessor’s Office team, from left, Chief Deputy Assessor Lucas Fresquez, Office Specialist Ashley Martinez, County Assessor George Chandler, Chief Appraiser Nerio Gurule, Appraiser Curtis Valencia, Apprentice Appraiser Melvin Martinez and Appraiser Betty Martinez. Photo by Kirsten Laskey/ladailypost.com
By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com
It may not be at the top of the community’s mind when thinking about Los Alamos County government but the County Assessor’s Office performs an important role in calculating property valuations, notifying owners of their property value and managing property taxes.
It could be that one of the reasons why the local assessor’s office flies under the public’s radar is because it is such a well-functioning office. This is proven in the assessor’s spotless audits, which are conducted annually by the New Mexico Taxation & Revenue Department Property Tax Division.
In fact, according to the state’s property tax division, Los Alamos is one of five counties out of the state’s 33 counties that didn’t have any deficiencies in its audit this year.
“Los Alamos does have a very well-run assessor’s office and has over many years,” New Mexico Property Tax Division Director Ira Pearson said. “They do a wonderful job.”
According to the Los Alamos office, the state property tax division director supervises all assessors to ensure that they are complying with the property tax code and therefore regularly evaluates their performance. The evaluation looks into their procedures and practices. More specifically, it reviews organization, documentation and property lists as well as evaluates responses to assessment administration, data management and valuation.
Local Chief Deputy Assessor Lucas Fresquez explained the evaluation is mostly conducted online but there are also an entrance and exit interview. The audit begins in April and ends in June.
At the conclusion of this year’s evaluation, Assessor George Chandler said they learned that there were no corrective actions to take.
This is a benefit not only for the assessor’s office but the public, Fresquez said.
“For the taxpayers here in Los Alamos County, it ensures they have fair and equitable taxes and that they are fairly and equitably distributed,” he said.
Chandler credits his office’s smooth-running and well-funded operations for a positive audit.
“We have a really updated system,” Chandler said. “We have a long record of collecting and keeping data accurate. It’s a lot easier to update in part because we are well funded. A lot of other counties don’t get support …”
Fresquez said the whole staff contributes to the success.
He explained the assessor’s office has seven full-time employees and “all of them play an important role in the evaluation.”
“It’s the overall culture of our office to check and double check everything,” Fresquez added.
Chandler also credited the staff, saying his employees are key the office’s success.
“I love watching these guys work,” he said. “It’s the professionals in this office that make it what it is.”
The Assessor’s Office is always open to the public if anyone has questions, Chandler said.
He added they “put a lot of emphasis in trust on services.” Chandler pointed out that exemptions are available to property owners, if they are eligible, and the assessor’s office encourages people to investigate these exemptions, which include exemptions for veterans. Furthermore, Chandler said his office can provide homeowners with information on the market value of their home.
September starts the busy time of year for the Assessor with property taxes coming due, Fresquez said. He added that in Los Alamos County, the number of residential properties totals 7,495. This includes apartments, multi-family units and townhomes. The number has risen with the Arkansas and Mirador developments but not significantly, Fresquez said. Another feather in the assessor’s office cap is the fact that it receives few protests of valuations. Fresquez said on average, the office gets 38 protests – 23 are residential and 15 are non-residential. Of those, only three have gone before the Valuation Protest Board.
Fresquez said he enjoys serving the public.
“I love public service and being able to help the community,” he said.
Fresquez isn’t alone in this sentiment; another member of the team, Chief Appraiser Nerio Gurule, agreed.
“I just enjoy the public service and working with other County departments and the other members of this office,” he said.
Public service is an integral part of the job, Fresquez said.
“All assessors have a heart for public service,” he said. “It motivates you to work and to do the right thing.”
