Denver clerk and recorder says failure to pay property taxes "an oversight"
Amid an ongoing and time-consuming feud with the Denver mayor's office over his 2026 budget, Denver Clerk and Recorder Paul López says he lost track of paying his property taxes, as CBS News Colorado found López on the city's list of delinquent property owners who have failed to pay their most recent property taxes.
"I wasn't aware," López said Tuesday morning when he was asked about why he had not paid his 2024 property taxes, which were due in 2025, on an 836-square-foot rental property he owns in west Denver. "I got absolutely busy. This is something that is not an intent not to pay, it's going to get paid, I just haven't been able to get online and do that," López said during an on-camera interview. "It's an oversight on my end," he said.
City records show López failed to pay $1,780.46 in property taxes on the two-bedroom, one-bathroom property by April 30 of this year. The city placed a lien on the home and began charging López interest on his unpaid debt. That interest and lien fees translated to López owing the city $1,897.26 as of this week.
His property is one of more than 8,000 properties listed on Denver's tracking system of owners who have fallen behind and failed to pay some or all of their property taxes. López explained he thought his mortgage company was going to pay the taxes, and that he had been busy.
"I'm a human being like everyone else. Sometimes I forget to pay a bill," he said. López indicated that within an hour of the conclusion of the interview, he had paid his tax bill and had a zero balance.
"I appreciate you bringing this up," he said. "This is a bill I just have to take care of."