County assessor ready to help with property tax value questions

With assessor's office shuttered to the public, staff can help by phone, email and mail

Ruidoso News

Assessor urges people to check the figures and to apply for any appropriate exemptions

Lincoln County Assessor Walter Hill will mail out new property tax values April 1, and he urged owners to check them carefully. Hill outlined the process for appeals and speaking to staff Thursday, detailing modifications, because of the ordered closure of his office tied to the effort to control the spread of the coronavirus.

"My main concern is that people check them and make sure they have their exemptions and everything possible that could help them, such as veterans exemptions," Hill said. "They can call the office, send emails and Fax. I just want to make sure all property owners have the chance to be sure everything is right."

Walter Hill, Lincoln County tax assessor, said his office is closed to the public at the county courthouse in Carrizozo, but staff is there to answer phones and emails.

He emphasized that any owner-perceived reduction in value tied to the virus can not be a basis for protest for the 2020 tax values. They can be filed next year, if an impact can be shown, he said. The 2020 tax values are based on home sales and other aspects of 2019, he said.

"We reduced staff in the office to five as the governor requested, but others are working from home," Hill said. "We will be able to accommodate everybody. We will be there to help them."

His staff currently is not doing any field work, he said.

"I didn't think it was wise to send out when people are struggling with what is going on now," he said.

Home owners can expect to see about a 2 percent increase in their property values for taxing purposes, he said. However, homes that were sold in 2019 will reflect market value, most likely higher, but possibly lower, depending on the selling price of the home.

"A 2 percent increase was applied across the board on residential property," Hill said. "The statutory limit on an increase is 3 percent, We didn't go the full 3 percent, the reason being when we compared our values to the sales (price of homes), we are getting close to the threshold the state requires. I didn't do 3 percent, because I didn't want to be right on top of the mark."

The 2 percent across the board increase doesn't apply to nonresidential property.

"There were no areas reassessed as far as mass appraisal," he said. "Any properties sold are brought up to market value, but that is separate."

Until all protests, adjustments and errors are handled, he didn't cite an exact figure for the new county valuation, because he didn't want schools and other taxing authorities to depend on a certain number of dollars for their budgets until he had a final certified amount sent to the state to determine the property tax rate, Hill said.

"It went up quite a bit, but will come down based on protests and errors," he said. "There are 40,000 parcels in the county and the initial figure was a $48 million tax value increase over last year's abstract based on new construction, reassessments and everything. We are growing. We're seeing a lot of high-end homes going up."

The county assessor's office in the county courthouse in Carrizozo is closed to walk-in public, but can be contacted by phone, email, FAX and mail.

All correspondence must now be handled by phone, e-mail, fax, or mail. The Lincoln County website at www.lincolncountynm.gov has been updated to include this information, Hill said.

Contact the assessor

Hill listed several ways to contact his office. They include:

Callings 575-648-2306 X125 or 800-687-2705
Emailing to whill@lincolncountynm.gov
Writing to Lincoln County Assessor, 300 Central Avenue, P.O. Box 38, Carrizozo, NM 88301
Faxing to 575-648-2390

"You can access all necessary forms and contact information by going to and clicking on the Assessor’s site under Elected Officials," he said. "The Assessor’s maps are also located on this site under parcel maps."

His website is at https://www.lincolncountynm.gov/county-offices/elected-officials/assessor/

State statutes mandate after the 2020 Notices of Valuation are mailed April 1, that a 30-day protest period begins and will end on April 30.

Protest and exemption applications received after that date, but postmarked on or before April 30, still will be accepted.

"I encourage all local property owners who are not receiving their exemptions to apply for them," he said. "They include family exemption, veteran’s exemption, 100 percent disabled veteran’s exemption, or the low income/disabled exemption."

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Dianne Stallings can be contacted at dstallings@ruidosonews.com This coverage only is possible with support from our readers. Sign up today for a subscription to the Ruidoso Newsxing to