Outrageous appraisals hurt Girl Scouts and landowners alike

If you are a resident who lives in Senate District 3, a businessman, or a Montana property owner, you might want to consider the following information before you vote in November.

Bruce Tutvedt in his Senate Bill 409 specifically required that the Girl Scouts appraisal value would be “as determined by the Department of Revenue.”

He should have known by the time he sponsored Senate Bill 409 that the appraisal of the Department of Revenue would be as high as a cat’s back. The Department of Revenue certainly didn’t disappoint him. They appraised the Girl Scout Camp for the astronomical sum of $500,000. The lease rates were then raised from $5,000 to $25,000, which the Girl Scouts can ill afford.

These outrageous appraisals of the Department of Revenue are resulting in sharply increased taxation in a declining economy, causing people to lose their homes and businesses.

The values have declined 40 percent on average for lakeshore property, for residences and for businesses. For example, the square footage value for commercial property in Kalispell declined from $144 a square foot to $100 per square foot.

The Department of Revenue refuses to recognize the impact of the severe recession that started in March 2008 with the bankruptcy of Bear Stearns. The Department of Revenue has put the businessmen in Kalispell in a vice: sharply increased property taxes in a sharply declining market. No wonder that the Daily Inter Lake is filled with notices of foreclosure.

The businessmen of Kalispell are undertaking an effort to establish a League of Business voters, to take steps to correct this situation at the next legislature. As a voter, you can also do your part to effect a positive change in the makeup of the 2013 Legislature.

Edd Blackler,

Bigfork