Commission accepts set property tax rates, Block votes no

The Sandoval County Commission adopted a resolution Sept. 11 that would accept property tax rates calculated by the Department of Finance Administration for the 2024 property tax year.

The commission voted Sept. 17 again because there was an incorrect mill rate for the village of Corrales Debt Service.

On Aug. 30, 2024, the certificate of tax rates for the 2024 property tax year was received from the Department of Finance Administration Aug. 30. The county is required to contact all entities with property tax authority to verify the rates calculated by the Department of Finance and Administration.

"This is just an administrative 'to do' every single year. I know there's some people misspeaking out there and saying somehow the assessors office calculates the tax rate, which is incorrect," County Assessor Linda Gallegos said.

In reality, the tax rates are just passed on by the office. It is up to county commission to accept them. If the commission board does not accept the rates by voting no,, they could go to jail.

County Commissioner Jay Block voted no, saying people shouldn't have to pay more money to "big government."

"So, I'm voting no because I've had enough of this shit from the state government," he said.

However, since everyone else on the board voted yes, Block will not be going to jail.

"I'm going to vote yes to keep Jay Block out of prison," Commissioner Dave Heil said with a chuckle.

Gallegos says the residents of Sandoval County will most likely see an increase in property tax depending on where they live.

There are two essential factors for determining a tax or mill levy rate, according to the county assessor's site:

1. Taxable assessed value: First, DFA needs to know the value of the property to be taxed. The New Mexico Property Tax Division prepares appraisals for all the state assessed or “centrally assessed” properties located in the county, and they prepare the state assessed appraisal reports, which are sent to the county assessor. The county assessor then submits a certified appraisal and tax year abstract to the New Mexico Property Tax Division. The assessor’s abstract specifies the total and net taxable values for every category of property located within the county. These reports must be sent to PTD by June 15 of every year. PTD then reviews the reports and forwards them to DFA.
2. Revenues demands of the county: Second, DFA needs to know how much revenue the tax must generate in order to meet the financial requirements for the entity receiving the funds. DFA receives and approves the budgets of each entity.

Taxable value on real and personal property is 1/3 of the total appraised value, minus any allowable exemptions, such as head-of-household or veteran’s exemption. The net taxable value is then multiplied by the tax rate to determine the actual taxes property owners are billed. Property in New Mexico is classified as residential or non-residential and is taxed at different rates.

People can see the county's certificate of property tax rates in mills in the Sept. 11 county commission meeting agenda.