Jefferson County Board of Equalization v. Gerganoff, 2010 Colo. LEXIS 820

Taxpayers Mark Gerganoff and Robin McIntosh appealed the 2007 Jefferson County property valuation to the Jefferson County Board of Equalization (BOE).
BOE partially sustained the appeal, reducing the valuation but not to the amount requested by taxpayers, yielding a tax refund and interest to taxpayers.
Taxpayers then requested the Board of Assessment Appeals (BAA) award costs incurred for hiring an expert appraiser; the BAA denied costs and provided no written findings; taxpayers appealed.
Court of Appeals held that the BAA was required to award costs to the taxpayer under § 39-8-109(1) but that the BAA could exercise discretion to award zero; reversed and remanded for reconsideration.
Colorado Supreme Court granted certiorari to resolve whether § 39-8-109(1) requires the BAA to award costs to taxpayers upon sustained appeals.
Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals, holding that § 39-8-109(1) does not mandate costs; award of costs remains discretionary for the BAA.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether § 39-8-109(1) mandates cost awards to taxpayers	Gerganoff argues costs must be reimbursed to taxpayers.	County contends costs are not mandatory; the statute is discretionary.	Costs are discretionary; no mandatory award by BAA.

People v. Dist. Ct., 713 P.2d 918 (Colo. 1986) (statutory interpretation and discretion principles)
Archer v. Farmer Bros. Co., 90 P.3d 228 (Colo. 2004) (courts may exercise discretion to award costs)
Hawes v. Colo. Div. of Ins., 65 P.3d 1008 (Colo. 2003) (agency powers and implied authority to effectuate mandates)
Union Pac. R.R. Co. v. Martin, 209 P.3d 185 (Colo. 2009) (ambiguous statutory language and interpretive aids)
People v. Meredith, 763 P.2d 562 (Colo. 1988) (strict reading of statute and interpretation)