Changes in property tax bills explained
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All Lake County property owners received their yearly property tax bills in October. Numerous residents were shocked, surprised, and understandably upset when they received additional bills for property taxes that had not been paid in previous years, and would become delinquent before the end of 2016. Most of the property owners receiving the additional bills were unaware that they had not been paying their property taxes in full.
How did this situation come about? The Montana Department of Revenue is charged with the task of assessing all properties in the state. A local Department of Revenue office is located in Polson and all Lake County properties are assessed out of that office. After the property assessments are completed, that information is sent to the Lake County Treasurer’s Office and property tax bills are calculated. The Lake County Commissioners have been aware for years that not all properties in the county have been properly assessed and that some tax bills were being mailed that were not correct. In March 2016 the Commissioners directed the County Finance Officer to begin looking for properties that might not be accurately assessed. Most of the research was done using Google Earth and comparing what appeared to be on the property with the property owner’s tax bill. Properties that were identified as potentially not being assessed properly were sent to the Department of Revenue office in Polson and the Department conducted site visits. Since March, a total of 64 properties have seen adjustments to their taxes. Most of the adjustments have resulted in additional taxes being assessed to the property, but a few taxpayers have received refunds for over-collection.
As of Dec. 1, $325,910 of additional taxes had been billed, and $207,269 of that amount has been paid. There are still properties being examined to determine the correctness of their tax bills.
The additional tax bills have created a significant financial hardship for many of those affected. Some taxpayers were billed for two or three years of back taxes, while others were faced with the maximum of 10 years. The Commissioners did not offer a payment plan for the additional taxes due to the problems that might come with attempting to collect money if payment plans were not followed and people became delinquent with their payments to the county. The only relief the Commissioners could offer was to waive penalties and interest to taxpayers, which is allowed by Montana law.
The goal of this entire process is to try to ensure that all property tax payers are treated fairly. If some taxpayers are paying less than they should, other taxpayers pick up the burden with higher tax bills.
Lake County also believes that the former Kerr Dam should be assessed by the Department of Revenue and sent a tax bill. The Department of Revenue has refused to do this and Lake County has filed a lawsuit against them in Judge Deborah Kim Christopher’s District Court in Lake County. She has asked Judge Blair Jones in Stillwater County to hear the case. Lake County hopes that Judge Jones will set a hearing date in Lake County in December to hear arguments in this case.
