Property tax worries continue to flow
The Lake County Courthouse was full of frustration Jan. 19, as residents and representatives alike spoke about flaws and problems they feel were brought on by the recent property tax reappraisal.
More than 120 people crowded into the courthouse room for a town hall meeting. Many residents came to seek answers on what could be done now to help bring relief from high property tax bills they've received.
Recreational and lake front land has held its value better than most land, skyrocketing tax bills for many around Flathead Lake. There has been much discussion on the avenue the Montana Department of Revenue used to set these numbers.
A record 2,350 Lake County residents filed informal requests for review (AB26 protest forms' through the DOR this fall.
Several resident spoke Tuesday about how the high taxes could force them out of their longtime homes.
"This is the first time I've felt like someone has slapped me in the face bad," Dayton land owner Kim Sheesley said. "How many people want to just live? Just live on their property?"
The panel at the front included area representatives Rep. John Fleming, D-St. Ignatius and Rep. Janna Taylor, R-Dayton, who moderated the meeting. Rep. Scott Reichner, R-Bigfork, and Sen. Verdell Jackson, R-Kalispell, were also present. Lake County Commissioner Chairman Paddy Trusler attended as well.
Most agreed the system was flawed and needed to be fixed. The biggest weapon the legislators seemed to think they have to form solutions lies in bringing bills with changes to 2011 Legislative session.
Answers to what could be done immediately were less defined. Residents were urged to file AB26 protest forms when the chance comes around again in June. Those who have filled out protest forms need to be armed with information and be ready to negotiate with DOR appraisers.
Trusler assured the crowd that adjustments – sometimes reaching hundreds of thousands of dollars – had been granted already.
There will be a revenue shortfall from the readjustments, Trusler said. Twenty percent of taxes goes to providing services in the county.
"I think everybody has to be really carefully about what they wish for," Trusler said. "Ninety percent of people in Lake County are happy with the reappraisal."
Jackson also handed out a chart showing a typical house inside Lake County could very easily see a drop in taxes because of the mitigation's redistribution.
Taylor began the meeting with a brief overview of the state's Constitutional requirement that once every six years the DOR must conduct a reappraisal of properties. The philosophy is set up to follow state guidelines to ensure property is appraised in a fair and equitable manner.
The 2009 legislature passed House Bill 658 to mitigate the reappraisal done by DOR, but Taylor said, the information used to pass this bill was incomplete.
"They scrambled and never got good data," Taylor said.
Jackson cited several other major flaws in last year's reappraisal that has cause problems. The DOR did not send appraisers to assess land.
"I think they went to an airplane map and looked at your property from 2,000 feet and set your value," he said.
He also said the 2003 appraisal data had been wiped from DOR computers.
Included in Taylor's set of solutions is a Constitutional amendment that would remove the "equalize the valuation" and "equal valuation" language from the current article.
A list of lawsuits being brought against the state were also presented. Taylor said residents should join those as well.
Frustrated landowner Tom Costanza was shaking his head all the way out the door Tuesday night.
"The state legislature needs to grow and brain and pass legislation to fix this," he said at the meeting. "I believe that if we don't do something concrete to help these people, you're going to have a bigger mess on your hands."