Overview and Duties of the Department

The county treasurer mails out the property tax bills and receives payment for not only the property taxes but also for all other miscellaneous county receipts.  The Treasurer is in charge of the safekeeping and investment of all county funds.

The American Heritage Dictionary defines Treasurer as "One in charge of the funds or revenues of a government, corporation, club, etc." The County of Valencia is certainly not a club or corporation, but a thriving growing county. Valencia County is listed among the fastest growing counties in the state. The treasurer currently mails over 209,000 property tax bills every year. The county's bills are second in number only to Bernalillo County.

Property tax bills are mailed by November 1st.  The first installment is due by December 10th. The second installment of the property taxes are due May 10th of the following year.  The funds collected by the treasurer is disbursed to the State of New Mexico, Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District, University of New Mexico-Valencia Campus, Village of Los Lunas, Village of Bosque Farms, City of Belen, Los Lunas School District and the Belen School District (see chart below).  Of the $24 million plus dollars collected, the County of Valencia keeps more than 32% of it. 

FAILURE TO RECEIVE A TAX BILL WILL NOT RELIEVE THE TAXPAYER FROM THE RESPONSIBILITY TO MAKE PAYMENTS BY THE DELINQUENT DATES (NMSA 1978, 7-38-36B)

PROPERTY TAXES ARE YOUR RESPONSIBILITY.  If your property is mortgaged, please forward the tax bill to your mortgage company for payment.

The treasurer's office also collects a variety of other revenues for  the county. These include liquor license fees, fire excise tax, landfill fees, and subdivision fees. Any county department that collects any kind of fees must turn that money over to the treasurer for processing. The County Treasurer does NOT determine the assessed valuation, the tax rate, or the amount of the taxes due.

The treasurer's office also disburses funds. Warrants are processed through the county's fiscal office but they must be cleared though the treasurer's office for payment. The treasurer and the fiscal office must work together because the county's budget is dependent upon the amount of monies collected by the treasurer.  

Other Departments within the Treasurer’s Office

Bookkeeping Department: handles credit card payments and returned checks, whether for county taxes or other county receipts.  The Bookkeeping department is also responsible for the end-of-month and quarterly reports.

Mortgage Department:  handles all payments from numerous mortgage companies.  The payments are generally received electronically from the mortgage companies.  These transactions are processed through the county’s computer system and applied to the appropriate taxpayers account.

Mobile Home Department:  Conducts a detailed property tax search specifically on mobile homes.  (Liens, Bankruptcies, Duplicate Assessments.) Notifies all lien holders on such properties. Contacts mobile home owners and informs them of the delinquency and deadlines to be paid before action is taken to sell property.  Physically looks at mobile homes and checks for correct serial numbers.  Types liens on all delinquent mobile homes to be sent to the Motor Vehicle Department and releases liens once taxes are paid in full.  Sends delinquent list to the State Property Tax Department, compiles information and conducts mobile home tax sales/auctions. 

These are the employees in the County Treasures Office to help you with your tax needs.