Assessor unveils public valuation heat maps as county taxable values spike

Summit County Assessor Stephanie Moll presented the 2023 tax roll and a new public valuation map to the county council on July 26, saying the county saw a substantial market-value increase this year and that staff built a visual tool to help residents understand assessments.

Moll said, based on combined MLS sources, the county recorded an overall market-value uptick and that taxable value growth at the time of roll close totaled about $13.6 billion (Moll described this as "just shy of 38% increase" in one passage of the presentation). She noted that percent changes can be skewed by small parcel counts in some tax areas (examples cited included several Park City Mountain Resort parcels and a Silver Creek tax area with many new builds). Moll told the council that primary residences increased by roughly 29% and condos and commercial properties showed larger percent gains in some districts.

The assessor's office demonstrated a new public-facing web map and "heat maps" created by county data analyst Matt Boyer. The application, available from the assessor's page, shows market and taxable values, year built, gross living area, assessment codes and parcel-level characteristics; users can filter by property type, year built or parcel characteristics and see pop-ups with parcel detail. Moll said the map is intended to reduce taxpayer confusion and make appraisal and data access easier; it also links to a tutorial and contact details for appraisers.

Council members tested and asked about features: whether tax notices or the formal tax disclosure can be downloaded directly from the map (Moll said tax notices are managed through the auditor's office and that a bulk data export is available from IT, typically for a fee), how very large percent changes in small tax districts arise (Moll explained those are often due to a small number of parcels or newly completed builds) and whether the state tax commission had reviewed the roll (Moll said state reviewers had seen the map and roll data). Moll and staff said they will respond to public inquiries and work with council members to answer constituent questions about assessment differences.

Next steps: The assessor's office will monitor public feedback on the map, continue to respond to taxpayer inquiries and provide council with supplemental materials on specific high-change tax areas on request.