Fern looking forward to Legislative session after long campaign

Incoming state Sen. Dave Fern is looking forward to the upcoming session. Fern represents Senate District 2, which includes the cities of Columbia Falls and Whitefish and was one of the few Democrats in the county outside of Debo Powers to gain a seat in the state Legislature.

“I spent a lot of time in Columbia Falls knocking on doors,” Fern said in an interview after the election. While he didn’t win the city outright, the door knocking paid dividends, putting him ahead of Republican Doug Adams.

Fern knows his way around Helena, as an incumbent state representative prior to winning the Senate seat, he served on Gov. Greg Gianforte’s Property Tax Task Force and the Behavioral Health System for Future Generations Committee.

Property taxes look to be a front and center topic this session and Fern noted that the legislature will likely craft some sort of measure than will look to buffer primary residence homeowners from ever increasing property taxes.

Most property taxes are locally driven, but the state does set the tax rate and it also controls appraisals. One tact would be a “homestead” exemption, meaning if it’s a person’s primary residence, they would pay a lower rate than, say, if it was a second home or a short-term rental.

Short-term rentals and second homes would pay a higher rate under proposed plans.

There’s is a twist to that, though. Some people have short-term rentals inside their primary residences. That might be addressed by an administrative rule crafted by the Department of Revenue, Fern suggested. He did talk to some homeowners who had that very situation while he was campaigning, he noted.

There is also the subject of possibly expanding the resort tax option to larger cities. Past legislatures have floated the idea, but it’s never gotten anywhere.

Columbia Falls and Whitefish have used their 3% resort taxes to great effect. Columbia Falls for example, has been able to pay for its fire department, add more police and still give property owners a property tax rebate.

The resort tax in Columbia Falls raises about $1.5 million annually.

Still, resort, or sales taxes, are unpopular and Montana voters have always resisted them. Back when Republican Gov. Marc Racicot was in office, he suggested a statewide sales tax.

The effort never got anywhere.

Still, the tax captures revenue from visitors and Montana draws millions each year.

“Your tax policy ought to reflect your economy,” Fern noted.

Still, it’s so unpopular no lawmaker seems willing to touch the subject.