County works to mitigate property tax mishaps

SANDPOINT — The Bonner County Planning Department is finding new ways to help ensure landowners are being properly assessed for their property taxes.

Planning Director Jake Gabell said the department has been working with the county’s GIS Department to use aerial imagery to detect possible structures on properties that do not have the proper permitting.

“After a review is completed by compliance and permitting staff members, letters will be sent to landowners with possible building violations,” Gabell said. “The Planning Department works with landowners to assist in the permitting process, do onsite inspections, and answer permit-related questions.”

If a structure has been built without a building location permit and the landowner has not applied for or obtained a permit, then a notice would be applied to the property title. If a violation is identified, the landowner is sent a letter and has 45 days to apply for the proper permit without any additional fees beyond the base cost of the permit, the planning director said. If a permit is not obtained within 45 days, the permit fee will be doubled, per Bonner County’s fee schedule.

Gabell said the purpose for making sure buildings are properly permitted is not just for the county’s gain, but to also benefit landowners. If a building has been demolished without notice, aerial imaging can detect that the structure is no longer there, and a property owner’s taxes can be assessed accordingly.

“The intent of this process is to ensure compliance with Title 11 Building Regulations and to ensure that property owners are properly assessed for improvements on their property,” Gabell said.

In addition to the aerial imaging, the Planning Department is working to pass a new county ordinance that would require a notice of a structure demolition or removal.

“The assessor's office has had to process several tax cancellations over the past few years due to citizens' being assessed on a structure that they had demolished,” Gabell said. 

Because of this, the assessor has requested adding language to the county’s Title 11 Building Regulations that would help smooth the process out and prevent future mishaps.

“The end goals are twofold: to ensure citizens are not assessed for structures that have been removed or destroyed and to give non-conforming structures a way to be memorialized before being destroyed,” Gabell said.

The ordinance is still in the planning process and is being considered by the Bonner County Board of Commissioners. Planning Department staff have crafted two versions of the ordinance for consideration and a workshop will be held on the matter Feb. 21.