County seeks clarity on MLS data disclosures

SANDPOINT — Bonner County is seeking an opinion from the Idaho Attorney General’s office whether it can withhold real estate sales data generated by the Selkirk Association of Realtors’ multiple listing service.

The county and the association are attempting to forge a new contract to share the MLS data, which is used the assessor’s office to establish equitable property tax assessments.

The association, which owns the service, seeks to keep intact a provision which forbids the data from being released to the public.

But the county said it cannot adopt a contract with such a term because it would be contrary to Idaho’s public records law.

Commissioner Mike Nielsen said the data is not exempt from disclosure and state law prohibits the county from contracting with a third party to thwart the release of public records.

“Either way, we’d be in violation if we didn’t release that information,” said Nielsen.

Moreover, a resident has threatened legal action against the county if those contract terms are allowed to persist, Nielsen said.

Association officials, however, maintain that the data amounts to proprietary trade secrets and won’t enter into a contract unless that data is protected.

“If we can’t guarantee that that data is being protected from being disclosed, well, then, I don’t see how we can enter into this agreement,” said Jim Haynes, president of the association’s board.

Board member Cindy Hunter said the MLS data can also be sold to online real estate databases such as Zillow and Trulia.

“The problem is that it sets a precedent for release of data on a continuous, ongoing basis over which we have no control. We trust everyone in this room implicitly. It’s the person behind them that we can’t tell where it’s going to go,” said board Vice President Raphael Barta.

Commission Chairman Cary Kelly proposed a bare contract that broadly states that the data will can only be used for lawful purposes that don’t violate any local, state or federal laws.

“The simpler we can make this, with leaving those things out, the better we are because then we get wrapped around the axle of how you interpret it, what words are used, what’s disclosed and what we can’t,” said Kelly.

But Haynes said the contract would have to specifically point out what can and can’t be done with the data in order to ensure its protection.

The board and association ultimately agreed to submit the question to the AG’s office through a local lawmaker.