Nearly two weeks into the reappraisal appeal period, the El Paso County Assessor’s Office isn’t the loneliest place in town, but almost.

Only 1,922 appeals had been received as of Thursday, 46 percent of them online. The front counter was deserted, with workers reporting only three or four walk-ins per hour.

Most appeals are from homeowners.

“We’re a tad bit over where we would normally be,” said Stephen Schleiker Jr., the assessor’s operations manager. “We’re nowhere near where we expected.”

Assessor Mark Lowderman said earlier this week he expected to receive 5,000 or 6,000 appeals in the first week.

A high volume was anticipated because the state-mandated appeal period – Jan. 1, 2007, to June 30, 2008 – could not take into account the plunge in real estate markets that hit the region in the second half of 2008 and picked up steam in the first part of this year.

During the 18-month reappraisal period, vacant land went up, on average, 7.8 percent; residential, 4.5 percent; commercial, 10.5 percent, and industrial, 8.1 percent. Only agricultural land declined by 0.08 of a percent.

“With 2.5 weeks left, it’s one of those things, we just don’t know,” Schleiker said. “Historically, the commercial (appeals) wait until the last week.”

Schleiker said one reason for the lag might be a redesign of notices of value, mailed May 1.

This is the first year the county has printed on the notice the estimated taxes due based on the reappraised value.

“That came about a year ago when several appraisers approached Mark and said a lot of people call in and say, ‘My value is this. What will my taxes be?'” he said.

Although some values have climbed, the tax bill might not go up much, he said.

For example, Schleiker’s Holland Park home increased in value by $14,464, but the estimated tax due on that in 2010 would only go up $68, or $5.66 a month.

Some people might think that’s not enough to complain about, he said.

However, tax bills won’t be known until after taxing entities set property tax rates in December. Except for some school districts, whose voters have opted out of constitutional revenue limits, taxing agencies can’t raise property tax rates without voter approval.

Agencies seeking tax hikes likely will place those issues on the November 3 ballot.

The last day to submit an appeal is June 1. If property owners are unhappy with the outcome, they can appeal to the county Board of Equalization, which will consider appeals for a month starting July 6.

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The Chrysler emblem on the hood of an unsold car is seen in the showroom at the Tomsic Motor Company, a Chrysler and Jeep dealer in Washington, Pa., Thursday, May 14, 2009. Photo by (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

Keith Srakocic