Hearing Officer- Independent Referee

SCOPE OF SUBMISSION:

Through this Invitation for Bid (IFB), Park County Public Works department, hereinafter referred to as County, respectfully requests bids from responsible qualified individuals to serve as Hearing Officer - Independent Referee for the County Board of Equalization, hereafter referred to as CBOE.
To be considered, the proposal must be received (not postmarked) by the County on or before Tuesday, March 28, 2025, by 12:00 pm. However, the County reserves the right to extend this date.
Please address the proposals to:
Park County
Attn: Administrative Assistant to the BOCC
P.O. Box 1373
Fairplay, CO 80440
OR
Email
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The proposal may be delivered by USPS to the address above, hand-delivered OR emailed to Park County at 856 Castello Ave., Fairplay, CO 80440, or sent via email to For security reasons, you must enable JavaScript to view this E-mail address. . The County reserves the right to accept or reject any and all proposals. The Request for Proposals does not bind the County to accept a proposal when, in the County's sole discretion, the County determines not to do so. Any final contract for services will be subject to the approval of funding by the Board of County Commissioners.

DESCRIPTION:
The duties of the Hearing Officer-Independent Referee are as provided in C.R.S. 39-8-101, et seq., including C.R.S. 39-8-102(2)(i) which provides that:

1. The county board of equalization shall have the authority to appoint independent referees who are experienced in property valuation to conduct hearings pursuant to subsection (l) of this section on behalf of the county board of equalization and to make findings and submit recommendations to the county board of equalization for its final action. However, no person shall be appointed as an independent referee pursuant to the provisions of this paragraph (i) in any county during any property tax year in which such person represents or has represented any taxpayer in such county in any matter relating to the protest and appeal of property valuation or to the abatement or refund of property taxes. In addition, no person appointed as an independent referee pursuant to the provisions of this paragraph (i) shall represent any taxpayer who appeared in any hearing before such independent referee in any matter subsequent to such hearing relating to the protest and appeal of property valuation or to the abatement or refund of property taxes.
2. Scope of Services
   Provide hearing officer-independent referee services to the County as necessary in order to conduct hearings on all timely filed petitions for appeals of property valuations. The County will endeavor to work with the chosen candidate's availability when scheduling hearings. All hearings will be conducted at the Park County Administration offices, located at 856 Costello Avenue, Fairplay, Colorado 80440.
   Render written findings and recommendations so that the CBOE can render its decisions at the regular meeting of the Board of County Commissioners of Park County.
   Comply with all statutory confidentiality requirements.
3. Proposal Format
   The proposal should be as brief as possible, but at a minimum should include:

• Your experience in property valuation.
• Your experience in serving as a hearing officer-independent referee and conducting hearings on petitions for appeal of property valuations and/or defending the assessor's valuations in appeals before a hearing officer-independent referee.
• Provide a list of other county clients with whom you have worked in the past, and years you worked for that county.
• The disclosure of any potential conflicts of interest.
• An affirmative statement by the candidate that the candidate: (l) Does not represent or has not represented any taxpayer in Park County in any matter relating to the protest and appeal of property valuation or to the abatement or refund of property taxes; and (2) Shall not represent any taxpayer who appeared in any hearing before him/her in any matter subsequent to such hearing relating to the protest and appeal of property valuation or to the abatement or refund of property taxes.
• Client references.
• Fees: In a separate, sealed envelope present one (1) set of the proposed fees for services as described in the Scope of Services as follows: Provide a fixed hourly charge for work for conducting hearings, and preparing findings and recommendations, and provide the estimated amounts of any charges for expenses you will seek to have reimbursed, such as lodging and meals.

The County reserves the right to negotiate compensation issues with the top candidate. If unable to reach a satisfactory conclusion, the County at its discretion may negotiate with subsequent candidates.