Assessments are made according to state statutes

Dear Editor,

 Increasingly these days, I’m reminded of a quote from a 94-year-old native Idahoan and mother of a close friend here in town. She said, “Don’t bother me with the facts. I’ve already made up my mind”! 

 That phrase again came to mind when reading a recent LTE regarding property revaluation calculations. I suppose when one has lived in so many places, things can be different. But this is Idaho. With a few exceptions, most of us buy or sell property based on values driven by a variety of factors, including property type (recreational, residential, etc.), location, size (land and improvements), and construction or finish materials (brick vs stick, etc.). I suspect most realtors would agree that two identical homes on identical lots, but one featuring things like granite counter tops, state of the art HVAC, and other/newer upgrades would sell for more than one without. Why would we expect our properties to be valued by a different standard for tax purposes?

 The formula for property tax revaluations and assessments are set by State Statute, such as Title 63, and are consistent for every assessor or their agents throughout Idaho. If you have a beef with that formula, elect someone else to the Statehouse. Mistakes can occur, so we all have the right to appeal to our County Board of Commissioners when they sit as a Board of Equalization. 

 State statute requires all property be reassessed at regular intervals and fall within a small margin of comparable sales within your community. In Washington County, I’m told that’s about every five years, so about 20 percent of all property annually. But as we’ve experienced over the past several years, real market values can fluctuate dramatically. Some inconsistency is possible, depending on when you were last assessed and what part of the market is hot.

 I’ve never known a county appraiser or assessor to be anything but respectful, polite, law abiding, or to use a drone (really?). They deserve no less from us. You can indeed decline access to your property, but Statute also provides alternative methods for establishing valuations in those cases.  

Tony Edmondson

Weiser