County revenue worries continue

LAKE COUNTY — Frugal spending habits and vigilance has steadied county budget concerns, commissioners reported last week,  although worry remains over lower-than-projected property tax revenue being collected.

The county is experiencing a revenue shortfall this year after projected property tax payments used to help set the budget have been reduced as the Montana Department of Revenue grants readjustments in favor of taxpayers.

“The only thing I would say is that we are holding our own as a result of real efforts on the part of department heads and other elected officials,” Lake County Commission Chairman Paddy Trusler said last week.

Three-month totals for adjustments granted as a result of protests now total $243,000, up from $130,000 in December.

While it does appear county staff reductions will be necessary, Trusler said, revenue problems are getting worse.

Increases in property taxes in Lake County were especially noticeable in some cases because of the large amount of recreational property. This prompted a spike in the number of AB26 protest forms filed.

Trusler estimated in December the readjustments could result in the county losing $100,000 in revenue to provide services.

Trusler blames the worries on the implementation of the reappraisal process. A letter outlying the commissioners’ concerns was sent to DOR director Dan Bucks late last year. 

On Monday, Bucks said his office received the letter and has been working hard to get the commissioners the information they need.

A Feb. 17 conference call has been set up between the offices. Bucks said a first step is getting information of the volume and size of the adjustments being granted in the county to the commissioners. If they still feel there will be budget problems, Bucks said his office will work with the county to find answers.

“There are answers in the law, and I think they are pretty clear answers,” Bucks said.

Lake County commissioners cautioned departments to spend only 90 percent of their budgets after setting them this fall. All capital expenses also must be approved. No employees were given a cost of living increase.

Even with the thousands already granted in readjustments, many taxpayers are still waiting for action on their AB26s.

Angry taxpayers gathered in droves during a town hall meeting on Jan. 19 at the Lake County Courthouse to ask questions about their side of the property tax issue. Dave and Kim Sheesley were at the meeting. They feel they are a prime example of how the reappraisal has burdened middle-class residents.

Their 100-feet of lakefront property in Dayton holds a 35-year-old cabin built by Kim’s parents, John and Ruth Forssen. Kim’s grandfather, Gust, first bought property there in the 1920s.

The appraised value shot from $300,000 to $900,000 this year.

“Technically it’s four bedrooms and two baths, but you really have to stretch your imagination to make that true,” Dave said.

Dave calls it their “little family homestead,” with original electrical wiring and an old sewage system remaining. Kim and Dave live and work in Polson, using the Dayton property for vacation.

Kim, who helped pound nails with her family as they built the cabin, calls it “a little piece of heaven.”

They know an impending Dayton sewer system upgrade will eventually raise the property’s value, but say they have made no upgrades themselves that would warrant the tripled appraisal value and subsequent tax bill they received this year.

The Sheesley’s filed a AB26 immediately after receiving their tax bill and are still waiting to be contacted by the DOR to continue to protest the process.

“I think our department is working hard and working well on the process, it still takes some time. We are going to work through it,” Bucks said of the review process.

Kim said she’s working to find a realtor who can give her a more realistic land value. They don’t believe with the down housing markets they can get anywhere near $900,000 for the property, Dave said.

“The closest comparison I can get is in Elmo, with a new house and 80 feet [of lakeshore], was $450,000,” she said. 

“I have no intention, no desire, to ever sell. I want it to go to my daughter and niece and nephew to have special memories there too,” Kim said.

But Kim said if nothing is done and the taxes catch up to them, selling might be the only option.

“[There] isn’t anything you can do right now,” Trusler said of people like the Sheesley’s.

Trusler is looking forward to July when the fiscal year ends, although he does expect more residents to file AB26s when the opportunity comes again in June.