Silent Tax

In Brief

By Alexa Schirtzinger

For Deborah DeMack, no news is bad news. DeMack, who has seen the assessed value of her affordable home increase by 65 percent since 2008, is (still) on a mission for answers. The assessed value of her home, along with others bought through affordable-housing programs, is much higher than her neighbors' non-affordable homes.

Though DeMack has sent letters up through the chain of command, most recently to state Taxation and Revenue Deputy Director Michael O'Melia and Finance and Administration Director Dorothy "Duffy" Rodriguez, she's heard nary a peep.
"It's been total silence," DeMack says. Even her request for a formal protest hearing with County Assessor Domingo Martinez hasn't been answered. (Martinez tells SFR his office won't hear property valuation protests until January.)


Last July, Martinez told SFR that the value discrepancies were due to piecemeal application of a new computer system.


Now, Martinez says he's logged all affordable housing valuations into the new system and that they'll be mailed next week.

Santa Fe Reporter

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