Lakeside property assessments ‘shocking’

Sue Goodner’s father paid less than $20,000 for a 40-acre parcel on Lake Pend Oreille in 1955.

Goodner was shocked when she opened her mail this week and learned Bonner County has assessed the 20 acres she inherited from her father at $408,410 – a $285,288, or 232 percent, increase since last year.

“We have valuable property, I realize that,” said the 86-year-old retiree. “But I find it a bit shocking to have the value rising that fast.”

One of her neighbors at Martin Bay, retired baker Bob Wallen, said the county assessed his half-acre waterfront parcel at $507,889 compared with $289,000 the previous year.

“They seem to really be sticking it to people who are on the waterfront,” said 72-year-old Wallen, who paid $26,000 for the property more than 20 years ago.

The total assessed value of property in Bonner County increased 69 percent from 2005 to 2006. Many residents – especially those with prized waterfront and view lots – saw their property values double or even triple, according to the county Assessor’s Office.

“I’m hearing people say they can’t believe their property is worth that,” Assessor Judie Conlan said. “They think maybe the tax bill will go up as much as the land assessment did.”

Conlan said she’s trying to assure taxpayers that large jumps in property value don’t necessarily equate to a property tax increase. In neighboring Kootenai County, Assessor Mike McDowell is also working to soothe angry taxpayers.

McDowell said whether taxes increase depends on the budget of each taxing district, ranging from cities and schools to the local highway district. The tax burden is distributed based on values, so property owners’ tax bills can fluctuate based on how much their neighbors’ parcels sold for in 2005.

McDowell said he may appeal the assessed valuation of his family’s property on Lake Pend Oreille, where his grandparents homesteaded in the late 1880s.

“I need to call Judie (Conlan, the assessor) myself,” McDowell said.

The phone lines in both counties have been jammed with people in disbelief about how much their property value has increased and concerned their assessments are in error. And it’s not just people with waterfront or property with spectacular views. McDowell said it’s from people countywide – from the waterfront mansion and the five acres on the prairie to the rancher in Coeur d’Alene.

On average, the value of waterfront homes in Kootenai County increased 40 percent. But, McDowell said, land values increased by an even larger percentage and in many cases doubled. That’s because people are willingly paying more for lake and river property.

During the first three months of 2006, the average sales price for waterfront increased 83 percent, according to the Coeur d’Alene Multiple Listing Service.

“Waterfront is part of the draw to the area,” McDowell said. “That increased the desirability and ultimately an increase of supply and demand in the marketplace.”

And that means higher property values – which are based on sale prices – for everyone.

McDowell called the Coeur d’Alene Police Department after an angry taxpayer phoned his home at 6:25 a.m. Wednesday. The police report said that the caller cursed and berated McDowell for taxing him out of his home.

“You belong in a hole in the ground,” the caller said before hanging up.

McDowell said he used caller ID to call the man back, hoping to come to a resolution, but the man continued the rant.

McDowell said Thursday he occasionally gets calls at home, but never before from anyone that threatening or angry.

He reiterated that the Assessor’s Office is willing to talk with any property owner who has questions or concerns. Last year the office fielded 7,700 calls and visits.

If property owners still aren’t satisfied, they have until June 26 to appeal. In Kootenai County, about 100 people last year appealed to the Board of Equalization, which is the county commission. Of those appeals, the board only made a few adjustments.

Greg Delavan, president of Coeur d’Alene Lakeshore Property Owners Association, said many members, especially elderly people on fixed incomes, are worried about how the valuations will translate into property taxes. He said that the public generally holds an inaccurate perception that all waterfront property owners are wealthy. But as more longtime locals are forced to sell, he said, that’s becoming more accurate.

“The reality is that a lot of people are coming into this area with a pocketful of cash and buying bargains on the lake, or at least bargains compared to where they came from,” Delavan said. “The greatest concern is that so many people have been here for years and years who are literally getting taxed out of their homes.”

Delavan, who owns a moorage marina in Walkers Bay, declined to provide the names of longtime Lake Coeur d’Alene residents who can no longer pay property tax bills that at times equate to $10,000 a year.

“How fair is it for a 75-year-old retired person who built their home by hand to have to pay $800 a month to live in their home?” Delavan said.