The Rio Blanco County Board of Equalization denied a Family Dollar appeal Aug. 3 after the company challenged the county’s valuation of its business property.
The board also unanimously accepted an administrative denial requested by Natural Soda LLC, allowing the company to take its appeals directly to the Colorado Board of Assessment Appeals.
Bill Faulkner of DuCharme, McMillen & Associates Inc. represented Family Dollar #29133.
Faulkner said Dollar Tree purchased Family Dollar in 2015 for more than $9 billion and sold it in July 2025 for $1.9 billion, resulting in a significant write-down of the company’s assets.
As part of the sale, PricewaterhouseCoopers conducted a purchase price allocation assigning value to Family Dollar’s assets. Faulkner said the company used those values when filing its 2026 personal property declaration with Rio Blanco County.
Family Dollar requested an assessed value of $4,718. The county initially assessed the property at $98,820 before reducing it to $95,990.
“What we are asking for is … that the assessment more closely align with the overall value that was paid by Family Dollar for these assets versus being based off of what Dollar Tree was carrying them on their books,” Faulkner said.
Rio Blanco County Assessor Renae Neilson said the assessor’s office reduced the original valuation after reviewing the account. If Family Dollar’s requested value were approved, she said, the county estimated a tax loss of $1,570.34 because the property would fall below the state’s $56,000 actual-value exemption for personal property.
Stacy Gould of the assessor’s office said Colorado law requires assessors to determine whether taxpayer-reported costs are reasonable. The office determined Family Dollar’s submitted values were not and instead used historical costs dating to 2017, adjusted under Division of Property Taxation guidelines for replacement cost and depreciation.
Commissioner Doug Overton asked Faulkner how Family Dollar arrived at its requested value.
“We’re using the fair value that was prescribed to the assets by PricewaterhouseCoopers during their purchase price allocation,” Faulkner said.
County Attorney Rose Pugliese said comparable properties are generally used in valuation, but other information can also be considered.
“The assessor also valued it based on their historic information,” Pugliese said. “All of that is relevant and you can consider that as well.”
Overton moved to deny the appeal.
“I just don’t feel it’s fair to our taxpayers,” Overton said. “Everybody has to use comps, and that’s what we use.”
Commissioner Jennifer O’Hearon seconded the motion, and the board denied the appeal.
The board then considered appeals filed by Natural Soda LLC for three accounts. Pugliese said the company requested administrative denials, which allow it to bypass the county board and appeal directly to the Colorado Board of Assessment Appeals.
The board unanimously approved the request and adjourned.