Bernalillo, NM: October 2020, Assessor Gallegos and her team have finished entering all essential data for the 2020 Tax Roll and delivered the tax roll to Treasurer Montoya. The tax roll is now ready to be accepted by Treasurer Montoya for the preparation of the 2020 Property Tax Bill.
On September 9th the County Commission held a special meeting to approve the mill levy rates from the New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration. Another special meeting was held on September 25, 2020, to approve the rates for the Public Improvement Districts throughout Sandoval County.
The county tax roll is the official record of property, subject to property taxation within a given jurisdiction. The property tax collected within the jurisdiction is a means for collecting revenue to fund local infrastructure and public services. Education, County government, and municipal government are the top receivers of property taxes. Law enforcement, DWI, Fire and 911 services, Health Care Assistance Program (HCAP), Libraries, Public Safety, Senior Programs, Roads and Infrastructure, Landfill, and the Detention Center receive a portion of the 23% that is distributed to the county. The distribution of property taxes that are paid by property owners is distributed to these entities by the 20th of the following month.
Treasurer Montoya has had a sincere interest to continue to collect property taxes during the global pandemic because the above entities are dependent more than ever that these funds be collected and disbursed as more needs are arising for our community.
“Thanks to our taxpayers, we were able to surpass our collection rate from previous years with an overall collection rate of 99.36% for the ten years charged to the Treasurer,” stated Treasurer Laura M. Montoya. “We are keeping a close eye on the 2020 Tax Year and will update the Legislature and Governor on collection rates for first-half tax season which is November 10- December 10. The 99.36% is important to recognize because when we collect from the majority, then, everyone pays less.”
The taxes charged to collect for the 2020 tax year are comprised of total net taxes in the amount of over $140 Million and approximately 148,000 accounts. The tax roll this year has grown in comparison to the $131.6 Million dollar tax roll for 2019. There was also an additional 425 accounts added to the 2020 tax roll. “We are pleased to report, that even through this difficult year, new residential value has been added to the tax roll based on 2019 new construction and current values are strong and steady,” stated Assessor Linda P. Gallegos. “Protests are delayed due to COVID-19 protocols to keep staff and constituents safe. We are working closely with the Treasurer’s Office to get the tax roll changes over to her as soon as we complete the process,” added Assessor Gallegos.
Total Taxes Charged to the Treasurer for the ten years of the collection will be over $1.2 Billion. We have applied all prepayments and any tax roll changes that result from a protest in order to reflect the most updated information on the tax bill. However, for those taxpayers who are in the middle of protesting their value with the Assessor’s Office, your tax bill may not reflect the change due to timing. Once the tax roll change is received, the Treasurer’s Office will process it and send the taxpayer an updated Statement-of-Taxes-Due.
Treasurer Montoya will be working diligently to mail out the tax bill before her statutory obligated deadline of November 1st. “I want to allow taxpayers as much time as possible to pay the first-half taxes owed by December 10th because we do not know how much Sandoval County property owners have been impacted by this pandemic. We have placed the Statement-of-Taxes-Due on our website for taxpayers to review. I am working on a target date of October 26, 2020, to mail out the property tax bill,” added Treasurer Montoya.
My team continues to process property tax payments at the Sandoval County Administration Building located at 1500 Idalia Road, Building D. We are open to the public through the front entrance after being screened. Anyone who enters the building is required to wear a mask at all times. The Treasurer’s Office has alternate payment methods for your convenience and safety. We continue to take payments over the phone 1-877-727-3090 (English/Spanish), utilizing the white drop box located in the Northside parking lot, online at sandovalcountynm.gov/paytaxes/ or by mail (checks and money orders only with the account number). Extended office hours will begin Monday, November 9 from 7:30 am to 5:15 pm Monday through Friday.