Just under a year in the making, Larimer County Assessor and Arapahoe County Assessor have joined forces through a new, innovative intergovernmental agreement [IGA] to speed up damage assessments to meet short FEMA deadlines in an emergency.

When a flood or fire emergency causes significant property damage little time is allowed to report the property damage assessments to the Federal Emergency Management Agency [FEMA] because of their short timeframe reporting regulations. 

Since faster, more complete damage assessments can result in the possibility of more FEMA recovery funding after an emergency, Larimer County and Arapahoe county now can work together to make that happen.  

Larimer County and Arapahoe county worked to create the IGA since both counties could help each other by working together in the event of an emergency. “Arapahoe County saw the need for this and stepped up to become a partner,” said Larimer County Assessor Bob Overbeck. “I want to thank Arapahoe County Assessor P.K. Kaiser, and the Arapahoe Board of County Commissioners for their support in this groundbreaking partnership.”

Sharing their resources also allows these two counties with already experienced appraisers to process the assessments faster instead of an outside contractor doing the work since they are not as familiar with Colorado statutes and other procedures.