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Friday, December 27, 2024
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Donna Gow

Donna Gow

| April 30, 2022 1:00 AM

• Profession: Assessor

• Party affiliation: Republican

• Educational background: high school graduate, some college courses and over 500 hours of appraisal education.

• How many years as a Bonner County resident: 42 years

• Marital status: Married 48 years.

• Family: Husband was director of the Sundance Drug Task Force before retiring to start Weekend Hoe Excavation and Hauling LLC. Oldest son is a command chief of OSI with the U.S. Air Force, He earned 2 Bronze Stars while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Youngest son is a captain with the Selkirk Fire Department. We have 5 grandsons.

• Hobbies: Reading, RVing and learning new things.

• Website: Facebook: Donna Gow for Assessor

  1. Things are usually pretty well established for the year, so not many changes unless the Idaho Legislature has established new statutes beginning the first of the year. One of my priorities is to continue working with Idaho Transportation Department and Idaho Association of County Assessors regarding funding of our local DMV offices. During that 90 day period, sales are collected and are analyzed by the staff. I will continue to monitor the process and make any changes necessary. I will also work with local groups to promote workforce housing that is sustainable.
    1. Retaining good/qualified employees. With the cost of living going up and the county budget constraints, it will be difficult to pay employees what they deserve.
  3. Growth. We have heard the reports from the platting and planning departments on how many more deeds and splits and subdivisions are received and that all filters to the Assessor’s Office.
  4. Maintaining staffed local DMV offices. This is an issue facing all counties in Idaho.
    1. For the past 3 years I have fought for good wages for my employees in both the Assessor’s Office and DMV. My budget is pretty tight, so there is not a lot of wiggle room. I do my best to treat my employees with respect and gratitude.
  6. There is not much I can do regarding the growth, all I can do is to continue to train and maintain the current staffing levels to do more with the same number of people.
  7. I started working on this problem last October. Our local DMV offices look to be ok for the next year. Since we are acting as agents for ITD, they should do more to ensure the local offices stay open.
  8. I am totally in favor of impact fees for new development as long as it is used properly. We don’t want impact fees to go the way of urban renewal.
  9. I don’t believe the federal or state government is going in the right direction. From what I have observed with some of the bills that are introduced, too many elected officials are more concerned with what benefits them than what benefits the people.
  10. The most critical issue in the Assessor’s race is to make sure all properties are treated fairly with sometimes limited information. The Assessor’s Office continues to be very busy with our continued growth, but we still try to contact property owners through calls and letters.
  11. The budget. The Assessor’s budget is the only thing that can effect taxes. My opponents seems to want to spend more money, while I am trying to get by with what we have. For instance we have not remodeled since we moved in 2008. We also have not purchased a new car since 2016. One of my opponents would like to spend over $100,000 on a technology program that as of yet does not work in the state of Idaho.
  12. Based on the forums, my opponents bring up things that have happened in the past that have been remedied. Such as, employee turnover, lack of respect for privacy, monitoring exemptions, and the amount of State Board of Tax appeals last year. As of November 2021 the Assessor’s Office and February 2022 both DMV Offices were fully staffed. This is the first time in a while. We revised our policies and procedures and created the “Notice of Inspection” to do more in respecting property owner’s privacy while still doing our job. The agriculture exemptions have been monitored for several years and now our timber exemptions are monitored also. We also monitor our 63-602NN exemptions. We have lowered the number of Board of Equalization appeals from hundreds to about 60 and except for last year had few State Board appeals. Generally Bonner County prevails in the State Board appeals. Last year we had 14 appeals in one subdivision. Even though many in the subdivision stated that the overall value was close to market.
  13. My answer is yes. I have been with the Assessor’s Office for over 30 years, have over 500 hours of appraisal education, and worked under 5 different Assessors. The Assessor does not need to be an appraiser, but it does make a difference. I field questions almost every day regarding assessments, deeds, and exemptions. There have been issues that we have had to address left over from the past, that have been resolved because I have the experience.
  14. Experience. No on-the-job training. I have made many improvements in the Assessor’s Office and the DMV Offices over the past three years. Some of the improvements were made with the help of others and some on my own. The office hired a Forester to improve fair and equitable assessments; increased and improved training; updated policies and procedures; created the “Notice of Inspection” asking for permission to inspect properties; improved the wait time in the DMV offices with “take a ticket” in Ponderay and pagers in Priest River. I was able to make these changes because I listen to all suggestions and weigh the pros and cons before I make a decision. The past couple of years have been difficult for many of us, but because of my leadership the Assessor’s Office and the DMV offices have come through the other side while serving the public and meeting all our deadlines.