By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper.
Sandoval County property values keep climbing — up nearly $1 billion on residential improvements alone in the past year — but the office pricing them out says staffing hasn’t kept pace with growth.
New Assessor Ed Olona, appointed by commissioners in July after his predecessor resigned amid a dual-paycheck scandal, told the County Commission on Aug. 26 the office needs more appraisers to meet state-recommended staffing levels, even as the county’s assessment accuracy just posted a dramatic improvement.
Residential improvement values rose from $3.61 billion in 2024 to $4.55 billion in 2025 — a $936.4 million jump spread across just 1,019 new parcels, according to the office’s annual report. Non-residential improvement values climbed from $1.1 billion to $1.36 billion over the same period, and personal property valuations nearly doubled, from $740.3 million to $1.47 billion. Despite that growth, the office’s 24-person appraisal staff remains well below the roughly 35 appraisers recommended for a county Sandoval’s size under International Association of Assessing Officers standards, Olona said, spotlighting commercial appraisers, residential appraisers and GIS technicians as top hiring priorities.
A summer of turnover at the Assessor’s Office
Olona’s report to commissioners comes two months into a new job he didn’t expect to have this year. He was appointed by the County Commission on July 22 and sworn in on the spot after longtime Assessor Linda Gallegos resigned effective July 10, closing out a two-term tenure that became a countywide controversy. Commissioners voted 4-1 on June 10 to formally demand Gallegos resign after she began drawing a reported $155,000 annual salary in a New Mexico Treasurer’s Office job on May 4 while continuing to collect her $86,626 county paycheck — an arrangement state Rep. Catherine Cullen, R-Rio Rancho, called a “taxpayer-funded side hustle.” Gallegos’s resignation letter didn’t concede wrongdoing; she accused the commission of “political grandstanding.” Commission Chair Jordan Juarez rejected that characterization, telling The Paper. that Gallegos’s comments were “frankly, unprofessional,” and noted the state Attorney General’s Office ultimately weighed in to inform Gallegos she should resign.
Olona has worked in the Assessor’s Office since 2010, most recently as Chief Assessment Officer, and previously spent seven years in the Colfax County Assessor’s Office. He holds appraisal certifications from both the state Taxation and Revenue Department and the IAAO. He’ll serve as Assessor through Dec. 31, with a resolution guaranteeing his return to his prior role and seniority once his term ends.
The office’s sales ratio — a measure of how closely assessed values track actual sale prices — improved sharply in 2025, with a median ratio of 97.9%, up from 61.84% in the prior study, moving the county from well outside state accuracy standards to comfortably within them. Property owners filed 3,457 protests over 2025 valuations; all but 35 were resolved before a formal hearing.
Voters will pick a permanent Assessor in November: Democrat Gerred Prairie faces Republican Lawrence Griego, who defeated Deputy Assessor Richard Shanks in the June primary.
BY THE NUMBERS
- 54,579 — residential improvement parcels countywide (2025)
- 97.9% — median sales ratio, up from 61.84% the prior study
- 24 — current appraisers vs. ~35 recommended by IAAO standards
- 16 years — Olona’s tenure with Sandoval County
Sandoval County Assessor transition
- Interim Assessor: Edward D. Olona, through Dec. 31, 2026
- November election: Gerred Prairie (D) vs. Lawrence Griego (R)
- Board of County Commissioners meetings: sandovalcountynm.gov