THE ASSESSMENT/COLLECTION DEPARTMENT ASSESSES AND COLLECTS A WATER SERVICE CHARGE ON LANDS THAT RECEIVE WATER FROM THE WORKS OF THE DISTRICT AT $43.82 PER ACRE (SUBJECT TO CHANGE) ON AN ANNUAL BASIS.

These include all four Counties Sandoval, Bernalillo, Valencia and Socorro. The Water Service Charge is assessed for property that has access to irrigation and is considered suitable for irrigation on our records.

The collection process also involves collecting miscellaneous items such as licenses, copies, distributions from Counties, Waterbank etc. Balancing and collecting monies is required & handled on a daily basis. Monies are collected by mail and at the front counter.

Each year the Assessment department receives revisions from the Mapping department that show new revised or combined properties that include new owners and acreage. These properties are derived from filed plats or surveys for all four counties and then are worked for the new billing year into our Triadic system. Ownership and address changes on property are continuously made to update our records as well.

The Assessment department is highly involved with keeping track of delinquent accounts and placing a lien if necessary. This involves preparing letters and sending them out in a timely manner. The department also works closely with Title companies to search for unpaid Water Service Charges. The Ditch Rider (ISO) is involved with being able to release water on current accounts only.

In addition to the above, the Assessment department holds a reclassification hearing each year in September to give protestors an opportunity to reclassify property to a non-irrigable or irrigable status. Each protestor can apply for an exemption on their property in regards to improvements or no access to irrigation. The approved or disapproved protest is then worked accordingly.  Protest Form