Final word from Helena

It is wonderful to be home. We are blest to live in the most beautiful place in the state, along with the greatest people.

It will be interesting to see what bills the Governor decides to veto besides the seven he already has. None of them are major bills so far, except I would have liked to see a special oversight committee for the stimulus money.

Our Governor has the power to veto any line in a spending bill. As I read the code, this will include the budget bill, House Bill 2, and the stimulus bill, HB 645. We'll have to wait and see.

We finally passed a re-appraisal mitigation bill, HB 658. No one likes it, but everyone's property taxes would have sky rocketed if nothing was done.

Remember that the homestead deduction is removed from appraised value. This has been constant at 34 percent, meaning you could remove 34 percent of the total value of your house right off the bat. In the new plan homestead deductions start at 36.8 percent for 2009 and slowly go up to 47 percent by 2014.

There is one exception. The homestead deduction can only be used for the first $1.5 million of value.

During the last cycle, the value after the homestead deduction was multiplied by 3.01 percent. This multiplier will now start at 2.93 percent for 2009 and down to 2.47 percent. That's the number that the counties use to multiply by the mills.

Any increase in tax will be spaced over the six-year cycle, just like before. But if your property tax is going down, you will immediately see the reduction.

The chart from the Department of Revenue shows that 52 percent of Lake County residences will have lower property taxes. Most of these are in the zero to $300 less per year brackets.

Of the 48 percent that will have increases in property taxes, most are in the zero to $300 per year increase brackets. But 2 percent of our residents will see increases of $1,000 or more.

There is a new sales assessment done every two years, written into the bill. This will help if our property values continue to decrease.

There are still four assistance programs to help property tax payers. One program is for renters as well. The very best way to check these out is to call the Kalispell office, 758-5700. There is also an office in Polson, 883-7227.

The state's new car registration computer system, MERLIN is off to a depressingly slow start. MERLIN stands for Montana Enhanced Registration and Licensing Information Network. It was suppose to make things more efficient. The state has spent well over $20 million so far.

During the interim I'm on the Legislative Finance Committee again. This committee reviews fiscal issues. I will report again throughout the interim whenever we meet.

It is truly an honor to work for the citizens of our area. Please continue to call me at home, 849-6096, write PO Box 233, Dayton, MT 59914, or email jannataylor@montana.com.