By Charles Zalmanek
San Juan County Assessor
The Statement Against Proposition No. 1 written by the Committee Opposing Land Bank Initiative published in the voter’s pamphlet contains several inaccuracies which bear correction.
First, the Land Bank owns only 3,198 acres, not 3,580. The additional acreage may be attributed to the Lopez Hill property which the DNR leases to San Juan County, but continues to own.
Second, The Committee Opposing Land Bank Initiative states, “The LB has exempted 3,580 acres. As they remove more from the tax base something has to give. Either rates on the remaining base have to increase or income for government services is reduced. We’re already experiencing layoffs and cuts to school programs.”
This is not how our property tax system functions. Taxing districts are allowed to increase their budgets by one percent per year without voter approval, irrespective of increases or decreases in the value of properties within the district.
As property values rose over time, even with Land Bank acquisitions, the rates of taxation decreased to remain under this one percent cap. Even in a declining market, taxing districts’ budgets are allowed to increase each year.
Third, the Land Bank REET has no relationship to school district budgets which come from different tax levies.
It is unfortunate that many voters may be misled by the publication of inaccurate information in the Voter’s Pamphlet.
It is unfortunate and anti-democratic that the Elections Office is not required to vet statements in the Voter’s Pamphlet BEFORE they are published. The government itself thereby is contributing to an erroneous vote result that does not necessarily reflect the will of the voters, but rather the willingness of advocates or detractors to bend the truth to get their way. In this case, have the detractors even bothered to find out the truth for themselves before spouting off so wrongly and so irreparably?