Board of Equalization Review Commercial Valuations

At a glance

Based on auto-generated captions; names and details may be misheard.

What: concern, raised by public speakers, that the county Board of Equalization and Review cut commercial property valuations, removing billions of dollars from the city and county tax rolls, with no published minutes explaining how.
Where it stands: the mayor said he is scheduling the board to present to the council at a work session so the facts can be verified.
Next: a work session presentation from the board (date not set on 2026-10-19).

Pablo Friedman asked the council to pass a resolution against the board's decisions with the same force as the constitutional amendments resolution. He cited the Chesterfield Building downtown, where almost $50 million of valuation reportedly disappeared, and said the lost revenue might have covered nonprofit funding cut late in budget talks.
He said the county commissioners have been intransigent and that several councilmembers have voiced frustration at work sessions with the tax administrator. He noted the board's minutes are not available.
Later, during the landmark hearing, he said the landmark designation process (public hearing, public documents, recorded discussion) is the kind of oversight the board's appeals lack, and asked that it be extended to all appeals heard by the county.
The figures are the speaker's claims and are unverified.

Mayor Williams said he is working to have board members come before the council so the narrative can be verified, and that it will go on the work session agenda. He said board members had agreed to come.

About 5 minutes across 1 meeting (from transcript timestamps; approximate).

Meeting	Minutes
2026-10-19 - City Council	5

2026-10-19 - City Council - Raised by Pablo Friedman twice (during the constitutional amendments item and the landmark hearing). The mayor said he is arranging for the board to present at a work session.