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Gila County Assessor responds to questions arising over recent fire events

If your property has been damaged by the Bush fire, Gila County Assessor Joe Williams says his office can help reduce property taxes on those properties.   And they can make the process as near painless as possible.

“Anytime a property is damaged by fire or other occurrences, we have a legal mechanism that can significantly reduce property taxes,” said Williams.  The process lowers the taxable value due to the damage, and that in turn lowers the amount of real estate taxes assessed on the property.

“For example, if your house burns down on May 1st then your assessment will the full market value of the house for the first four months of the year, but then it will be valued as vacant land for the last eight months.”

Williams said the challenging part of the process is the paperwork.   “Most of us, when dealing with a recent disaster, don’t have the time or the desire to research statutes, gather supporting documentation, find the correct forms, fill them out and send them in certified mail,” said Williams. 

“That’s where we come in:  The Gila County Assessor’s Office will send an appraiser out to physically verify the damage, do all the math and fill out all the correct forms, then submit all our new values to the property owner for approval. 

And said Williams, “All you must do is call us to let us know what happened, and we will do all the paperwork for you.  This action also preserves all the property owner’s same appeal rights.”

“If a property disaster affects any one of our residents, correcting the assessment as soon as possible in accordance with the law is not only an efficient way for a government office to operate, it’s also a great way to serve our bosses, the Gila County taxpayers.”

Property owners can call the Assessor’s offices in either Payson (928- 472-7973) or Globe (928 402-8714) for more information, or to start the process.

 

Joe Williams

Gila County Assessor

(928) 472-5312 Payson

(928) 402-8714 Globe

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