County assessor running unopposed in November

Jefferson County Assessor Jim Everson anticipated a tsunami of protests in 2009, suspecting that higher-than-expected property-tax valuations would befuddle homeowners.

Emile Hallez Williams

Jim Everson

Buy this photo

But the wave never came.

His office prepared well ahead of time for the protests, he said. It sent notices to property owners, hoping that would brace them for potentially disappointing valuations, which were based on home-sales figures from June 2008, when houses fetched more of a premium.

“All of us had these big estimates about how many folks were going to protest. Because of that we embarked on a really big education. We had press conferences. We sent out notices,” said Everson, a South Jeffco resident and a Republican who has held office since 2004 and faces no challenger in this year’s general election. “I think that led to a lot of people not feeling the need to (protest). … It was a prediction we made, and, frankly, it was wrong, because we ended up with about half that.”

Fastidious preparation is a detail that suits him well for the office, he said, outlining innovations the office of 57 employees has seen in his tenure.

“We had 10,539 protests. That was about 18 percent less than we had in 2005. … It was surprising and helpful for us,” he laughed.

Among improvements to the office, which was held previously by now-Commissioner Kevin McCasky from 1998 to 2004, are a user-friendly Internet database and reduced spending, he said. And a new computer system, an update to the existing decades-old unit, is on the horizon.

“I’m sort of pleased about the way things have turned out for us,” he said of his six years as assessor. “We’ve decreased spending in the office by 9.78 percent – and that’s inflation adjusted,” he said of annual outlays, which without an inflation adjustment were up in 2009 by 2.47 percent over the previous year.

“We’re doing an efficient job. We’re using less resources on each property, dollar-wise, to do our job.”

Concerning the searchable Internet database, property owners can access data at their convenience, he said, often eliminating the need for phone calls to his office or trips to the Taj Mahal.

“They can answer their own questions. … If these questions occur to people at 2 p.m. on a Saturday afternoon, there’s nobody in the office,” he said of the website’s round-the-clock availability. “It lowers the amount of time they spend coming into the office or calling us. … A lot of these people are doing the sorts of things that we used to do for them, on their own. That saves taxpayer money, too.”

And things like business personal property tax inventories — items such as tables and chairs — can now be submitted to the assessor’s office online as well, he said.

The pending computer system upgrade, a joint venture among Jeffco, Denver, Arapahoe County and Broomfield, will eventually make property tax data widely accessible to residents, allowing them to compare information across county lines. Jeffco and the other entities will initially share the same software and will later be able to freely share information, Everson said.

“This is something we’ve been working on for the last three years,” he said. “At some point in time we’re going to be able to share information with everybody. … That’s going to lead to even more efficiencies.”

Regarding property tax valuations to be released next year, a surge in protests is unlikely among homeowners, he said, though one is expected to come from business owners.

Modestly valued homes are declining minimally, though pricey houses, such as those over $1 million, could see greater depreciations, he said. Business owners, particularly those possessing rental properties, may be unhappy about the new round of valuations, suspecting that they could be paying more than they wish in taxes, he added.

“When you have declining income, operating expenses that stay about the same, you see in a decline in value for that real estate asset,” Everson said about businesses operating in the strained economy. “You’ll see that in some of your businesses, especially retail space and office space.”

In his next term, voters can expect more of the same from him, Everson said.

“I’d like to think that I’ve done a good job over the past six years,” he said. “I’d like to believe that people want to see more of the same, that they want to see more efficiency and see more user-friendly tools pushed out to them.”

Everson was appointed county assessor in 2004, when McCasky was elected commissioner; Everson was elected to the position in 2006. Everson, a lawyer by trade, holds an economics degree from Western State College and a juris doctorate and MBA from the University of Denver. Though he has worked for oil and telecommunications companies, the majority of his career has been spent in private practice.

Everson has served as a COHOPE representative and volunteered briefly on the county’s planning commission and board of adjustment.

In his free time, he plays the French horn in a number of local ensembles and serves on the board of the Jefferson Symphony Orchestra. Everson and his wife, Mary, have lived in South Jeffco for 32 years and have four sons, all of whom are currently in college.

Contact Emile Hallez Williams at emile@evergreenco.com or 303-933-2233, ext. 22. 

For updates, check www.ColumbineCourier.com.