BOZEMAN — Some folks in Bozeman weren’t too happy when they opened the mailbox to find a notice saying their property value is increasing by a large margin this year.
“My heart sunk a little bit thinking ‘wow, this is a huge increase’,” said Amy Katz.
16 years ago, Katz bought her home in Bozeman for 280,000 dollars. But she opened the mailbox in June and realized she might be hit with a huge burden.
“That notice we got that tells you now, the taxable value is $618,000,” said Katz.
And Katz isn’t alone in her worry.
“We’ve had tons of phone calls and emails to the commissioner’s office from people wondering what is going on with these assessments,” said Gallatin County Chief Financial Officer Justine Swanson.
Swanson says although your property is going up by 10-30 percent, it does not mean your taxes are going up the same amount.
“On the assessment, the Department of Revenue has attempted to make an estimate of what your property taxes will be,” said Swanson. “And unfortunately, they’re not very accurate.”
That’s because the taxing jurisdictions are limited to half the rate of inflation over the last 3 years.
“So those numbers they’re showing are way too high,” said Swanson.
Katz says this information stopped her from protesting the increases.
“Don’t make these protests when your property value probably has gone up that much,” said Katz.
But even so, if you wish to appeal the valuation the Department of Revenue has put on your property, you can visit the Montana Tax Appeal Board website.
On July 12, the county is holding a town hall meeting regarding the property assessment in the courthouse community room.
Moving forward, Katz says she is hopeful for change.
“I think instead of property taxes going up and up, we should have some sales tax,” said Katz.
