Property tax review deadline today

LAKE COUNTY — Time is running out for  Lake County residents who wish to appeal their recent property tax assessment.

The assessments, mailed out at the end of August and beginning of September, showed that more than 70 percent of homeowners in  Lake and Flathead counties will see a property tax hike.

Property owners who question the state’s figures have 30 days after receiving their assessment notice to submit a form for an informal review.

The deadline is today for Lake County. The assessments came from the Montana Department of Revenue’s recently concluded tax re-appraisal, as required by the 1972 Montana Constitution.

The most recent re-appraisal cycle ran from Jan. 1, 2002, through July 1, 2008.

In Lake County, roughly 70 percent of homes will see higher taxes.

The increases are being phased in over the next six years while decreases are immediate.

Properties are re-appraised on a “neighborhood” basis. Many of those homeowners who saw significant increases are likely to be on the East and West shores of Flathead Lake.

Scott Williams, regional manager for the Department of Revenue, said waterside properties have held and increased their value, faring better then most other properties.

Legislators knew that with the high appreciation in the area over the past several years the Flathead area would get hit, said State Rep. Scott Reichner of Bigfork.

Those  having the most trouble with steep increases tend to be people who are now retired and living on a fixed income and have owned  their property for 20 or more years, Reichner said.

The Montana Legislature will take another look at the tax assessments in 2011 to see if the data has changed significantly. If it has, adjustments can be made or properties re-evaluated, Reichner said.