Los Alamos County Assessor Ken Milder, right, and Chief Deputy Assessor Joaquin Valdez present their proposed FY-2016 budget during this evening’s Budget Hearing. Photo by Carol A. Clark/ladailypost.com
Staff Report
Los Alamos County Assessor Ken Milder and Chief Deputy Assessor Joaquin Valdez presented their proposed FY-2016 budget to the County Council during this evening’s Budget Hearing.
They explained that the County Assessor’s Office budget is funded by two funds – the General Fund and the Property Valuation Fund, which is a revolving; restricted fund.
The Proposed General Fund expenditures for the department decreased by about 2.6 percent and the proposed Property Valuation Fund expenditures increased approximately 14 percent.
The Assessor’s Office General Fund budget for FY-2015 was $396,000 and the proposed FY-2016 budget is $386,000, which is a 3 percent decrease. The Property Valuation Fund for FY-2015 was $127,000 and the proposed is $145,000, which reflects an increase of 14 percent. The total department budget in FY-2015 was $524,000 and the proposed FY-2016 budget is $531,000, reflecting an overall increase for the department of 1 percent.
The County Assessor’s Office locates, identifies and values all taxable property in Los Alamos County in accordance with New Mexico State Laws. This includes both real and personal property.
Real property is generally defined as land and all things attached to the land. Residential land and improvement and all types of commercial land and improvements would be an example of Real Property. Personal property is defined as all other property. Mobile homes, business personal property (furniture, fixtures and equipment), and livestock are examples of personal property. This requires constant searching for information so that an accurate analysis of the market is done to estimate the fair market value of properties.
The Assessor’s Office also prepares and certifies the assessment roll and individual property assessments in accordance with New Mexico State Laws.
