Assessment notices will be mailed on June 2

‘Tis the season for assessment notices.  The assessments for all properties in Bonner County will be mailed on June 2. If you do not receive a notice within a reasonable amount of time after that date please advise our office and confirm or change the mailing address that we have on record. We can be reached at 265-1440 and our new address at the Federal Building is: 1500 Hwy 2, Ste 205, Sandpoint.

The goal of the assessor’s office is to have values within 10 percent of market value.  The state mandates these perimeters.  Helpful tools in reviewing your assessment notice are:  observe the market in your neighborhood, identify if your assessment appears reasonable and fair comparatively, obtain information on actual sales that are comparable to your property.  Sales used have to be closed by Dec. 31, 2007, since 2008 sales cannot be considered in your assessment and cannot be used in an appeal.

As mentioned in the previous assessor’s corner 2007 values in Bonner County did not decrease in fact values for all categories of properties rose slightly with the exception of commercial property which increased in value dramatically.  As an example, commercial property in the geographic areas such as Schweitzer, Ponderay and those east to Clark Fork, have significantly increased in value regarding land and improvements.  These assessments escalated as much as two or three times over previous valuations.

The values for the 2008 assessments were arrived at by studying 2007 sales.  The assessment value is an estimate of value as of Jan. 1, 2008.  Any change that occurs in the 2008 market will not be studied until the 2009 assessment period.  This is sometimes misleading when the appeal period is half way through the 2008 year.

At this time the first quarter residential sales data of 2008 show some evidence sales prices may have slightly declined.  However, the entire year of sales that occur will be studied at the end of 2008. 

At that time we will have a complete picture of what the market did in 2008. The agreement in place between the Selkirk Multiple Listing Service and the Assessor’s office will continue to ensure that your values are in line with the market for the year being studied for assessment purposes.

It is the property owner’s right to appeal the assessed value of their property if warranted.  The deadline to appeal is Monday, June 23, at 5 p.m.

If your property value does not appear to be accurate or fair within the 10 percent margin of the 2007 market, it is beneficial to contact the Assessor’s office prior to completing the appeal paperwork simply because many times after discussing your unique situation with our office we can either explain the process or identify that there is a necessary change to property characteristic that would generate a value change.  If you choose to appeal the assessment after communicating with our office you may obtain forms and submit the paperwork to the Board of Equalization at the Commissioner’s office by the June 23 deadline.  The Assessor’s office has control of the roll until that deadline.  After that we have no authority to change assessments, and the roll is in control of the Board of Equalization and the appeal process.

When appealing it is important to remember that the state law puts the burden of proof on the property owner.  This law is contrary to what I believe and most of you think but it is the law.  Therefore you will need to have factual data to support your case.  Simply thinking that your taxes will be too high because your assessed value changed or that you do not like the system will not be considered in an appeal.  Remember that an assessment is just one part of generating a tax bill.  The budgets of all taxing entities go into the mix as well as the total assessed value in the county to establish the mill levy.

The entire staff at the Assessor’s office has the goal of keeping assessments as low as possible consistent with the market and the state laws. We are proud to be able to do a very difficult job and be of important service to the taxpayers in Bonner County.