Legislature must help the state's homeowners

Fellow Idaho taxpayers, we have received this year's property tax assessments, this year with a higher than usual increase. I think it's time legislation is passed to protect the long-time Idaho property owner from these sky-rocketing property tax assessments.

This protection is needed to prevent the long-time owners from being taxed off their property. I believe this can be done by passing legislation establishing the true market value of a property (what the property sold for the last time it was on the market) as its assessed value. If a property hasn't been on the market for more than 20 years, its assessed value should be set at its 1986 assessed value. This would protect the long- time property owner from the present pie-in-the-sky method with its outrageous increases in assessed value.

Please contact your state senator and representatives supporting this type of legislation.

A.B. KELLOGG

Sandpoint