Flathead leads state in reappraisal reviews

Flathead County taxpayers filed more than 7,500 requests for informal reviews of their property tax reappraisals - accounting for nearly 29 percent of all state requests.

Statewide, owners of 26,250 parcels of residential, agricultural, commercial and forest property have sought informal reviews. This is an increase of 17,850 requests from the 8,400 filed in 2003.

Once every six years, the state Department of Revenue is required by state law to conduct a reappraisal of residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural and forest property.

Flathead residential property increased 73 percent in value over the six-year period.

Commercial property value increased 47 percent, while agricultural land decreased by 20 percent, according to state statistics. Forest land increased by 40 percent in value.

Meanwhile, property-tax bills based on the reappraisals have been mailed out.

"We sent out 57,128 tax bills," Flathead County Treasurer Adele Krantz said. Those will produce $130,650,467 in total taxes.

In 2008, the county mailed out 55,970 tax bills for a total of $125,733,602.

Property taxes are due Nov. 30.

The Montana Constitution and state law require periodic reappraisal of property. That means an adjustment of taxable value based on current market conditions.

"There is not a windfall profit being made off of this," said Scott Williams, regional manager of the Montana Department of Revenue, which conducts reappraisals. "The mitigation worked. There's a misconception that taxes are going up. People took this to mean an increase in value meant an increase in taxes, which it didn't."

"Reappraisal was revenue-neutral statewide, but that doesn't mean an individual's taxes didn't go up," Williams said. "All the reappraisal does is it redistributes who pays what."

Williams provided an example of a taxpayer who had a minimal increase in taxes compared to the reappraisal estimate.

"We quoted a gentleman a month ago that he would see an $80 tax increase on last year's mill rate. With the new mill rates out there his taxes actually $9 more than last year," Williams said.

If taxpayers feel their tax bills are incorrect, Krantz advises them to pay their taxes in protest. Those who have asked for reappraisal reviews should pay their taxes in protest pending the reviews.

The taxpayer must file a tax protest form by Nov. 30 at the Flathead County Treasurer's office. The money is placed in protest fund where it is kept until the Department of Revenue makes its decision. The tax payment either is refunded, plus interest, or the money goes into the community as taxes. Tax payments will not be refunded unless they are filed under protest.

For more information, contact the Flathead County Treasurer's office at 758-5680 or stop by the office at 935 First Ave. W., Kalispell. For more tax information and downloadable forms, go to http://flathead.mt.gov/property_tax/index.php.

To contact the Department of Revenue, call 758-5700 or stop by the office at 100 Financial Drive, Kalispell.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Reporter K.J. Hascall may be reached at 758-4439 or by e-mail at kjhascall@dailyinterlake.com