Property valuations began arriving in mailboxes this month, and the shocking numbers have left Coloradans around the state understandably anxious about their forthcoming property tax bills. The “slow motion” crisis, as it has been called, has highlighted just how inflexible Colorado’s property tax system is in the face of dire circumstances — in this case, a prolonged housing crisis that has caused valuations to soar.

The Legislature, counties, special districts and voters all play a part in determining just how much money a homeowner will pay in property taxes. It is, to say the least, convoluted. And in Colorado, everything is further complicated by the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights cap on government growth and spending, which makes it difficult for lawmakers to provide temporary relief without permanently lowering taxes and potentially harming the budgets of our counties and special tax districts.

Since June 2020, the median increase in home values across the state has been an eye-watering 40%. Here in Boulder County, it has been about 35%. And, while the relationship between the assessed value of a property and property taxes is not linear, it is reasonable to expect that when the value of a property increases sharply, property taxes will increase as well.

The Camera has heard from readers around Boulder County who are now anticipating property tax increases in the thousands of dollars. And, as we wrote in March, for all its incredible affluence, Boulder is still home to many people for whom such an increase would be crushingly onerous. Many Boulderites bought their homes decades ago when they were worth a fraction of the bounty they would now fetch. Since then the homeowners may have retired and settled into life on a fixed income. A sudden surge in the value of their home and a corresponding increase in taxes could be ruinous.

The same holds true for businesses, which have seen a general increase of 41% in Boulder County. Pair that with the nonresidential assessment rate of 29% and things could look dire for any shop or restaurant running on a tight margin.

It’s a terrifying prospect, and thankfully, in the final hours of the legislative session, our state lawmakers took action.

Their stopgap measure is not perfect, but it could soften the blow and stabilize property taxes for the next 10 years — presumably while a more-permanent solution is concocted.

Relief, though, will require statewide approval of Proposition HH on the November ballot.

The measure would lower the residential assessment rate to 6.7% from 6.765% in 2023 (for taxes owed in 2024) and keep the rate at 6.7% until 2032. It would also allow homeowners to exempt the first $50,000 in their home’s value from taxation. (That figure would drop to $40,000 for each following year until 2032.)

The commercial assessment rate would be reduced from 29% to 27.85% through 2026.

And since these tax dollars homeowners and businesses save would no longer be going to our special districts (counties, water districts, fire districts, ambulance and hospital districts, school districts and other local governments), the bill would also allocate up to $250 million from TABOR to backfill any lost revenue.

The final element of Proposition HH would be to equalize TABOR refund checks at an estimated $661.

It’s early days, and the language of Prop HH has only been written, but it appears to be a reasonable effort to help provide relief to those who need it most. (To see what Prop HH would do to your property tax bill, you can utilize The Colorado Sun’s calculator.)

While we await the outcome of the election, there are steps homeowners and localities can take to help people save.

First, for those who feel that their homes were inaccurately appraised, there is a formal appeal process. Appeals are accepted from May 1 to June 8.

And second, there are a handful of relief programs that can and should be used by all who qualify.

The state’s Homestead Property Tax Exemption provides those 65 and over who have lived in their houses for at least 10 years and veterans with disabilities with an exemption equal to 50% of the first $200,000 of the actual value of the property.

Localities also have the ability to offer relief. This board previously advocated for Boulder to adopt a refund program similar to Broomfield’s Property Tax Refund Program, which aims to refund the difference between last year’s property tax amount and this year’s for qualifying seniors, veterans and disabled homeowners.

Other programs offer exemptions, rebates and deferrals. More information about them can be found at https://tinyurl.com/2ttrvrxa.

All who qualify should take advantage of any available relief programs. But the real onus here is on our legislators and, come November, on voters.

Colorado’s property tax system has become outmoded. Our ongoing housing crisis has shown the limits of flexibility in the methodology and is threatening to uproot low-income homeowners and seniors and force local businesses to close up shop.

Proposition HH will provide necessary near-future relief. But in the long term, we will need our elected officials to find real solutions to our property tax system to address the reality of our housing situation. One potential example, which also helped to inspire elements of Prop HH, is Utah’s system, which prevents special tax districts from receiving more funding than they have requested and voters have approved (adjusted for inflation).

Speaking of our housing crisis, though, we must not forget the role that it is playing in all of this. Scarcity of stock lays the groundwork for demand to drive prices ever higher — dragging property taxes up with it. Continuing to address our dire need for housing will have positive ripple effects around our state.

Gary Garrison for the Editorial Board