Q1: How do I file an appeal of my property value on my Assessment Notice?
A1: The only way to file an appeal is to contact the County Commissioners’ Office at (208) 446-1600, and fill-out the Commissioners’ Appeal Form and submit it to the Commissioner’s Office before the deadline of the 4th Monday in June. Contacting the Assessor’s Office is not an actual step in filing an appeal. The information on the County Commissioner’s “Property Assessment Appeal” webpage is sometimes misunderstood. Only contacting the Assessor’s Office does not preserve your right to appeal and it does not actually start the appeal process.
Q2: Why contact the Assessor’s Office?
A2: If the information that we have on your property is inaccurate, please contact the Assessor’s Office to let us know. It is important that we have precise information on your property so that the assessed value is as accurate as possible. A first place to start is by reviewing the public information that we have on file for your property at this link: Public Access.
Q3: What should I look for, when checking for accuracy in the property record?
A3: A good place to start is by using Public Access to check our records to ensure that our information about your property is accurate. Is the square footage correct? Does it reflect the correct number of rooms, bedrooms and bathrooms on the right levels of the home? Are the photos that we have accurate? Are there any photos of additional outbuildings or structures that do not belong to you? Does the sketch or floor plan layout look accurate? If you discover inaccuracies, then contact the Assessor’s Office to let us know. We want to be accurate.
Q4: How do I contact the Assessor’s Office?
A4: Please call us at (208)446-1500 or email us at kcassr@kcgov.us.
Q5: Why am I not hearing back from the Assessor’s Office? Why is nobody answering my phone call?
A5: Please understand and know that call volumes are high, especially during the Assessment review timeframe (which runs the 1st Monday of June through the 4th Monday of June). Call volume is also high during the Board of Equalization (BoE) timeframe when our staff is meeting with the Commissioners and the public. Please try calling us again at (208)446-1500 or email us at kcassr@kcgov.us.
Q6: Should I file an appeal?
A6: Every property owner has the right to file an appeal. However, you should know that Idaho State Law favors the Assessor’s valuation as being correct and it is a very steep and high burden of proof for a property owner to prove that the Assessor’s value is incorrect. The Assessor’s value is based on statistical analysis of the market values from the previous year. Generally, homeowners do not have access to the amount and type of data needed. However, it is not only very important that our values be accurate, but Idaho State Law requires that they are set in a fair and uniform manner. The Assessor’s Office staff works very hard to get the values correct so they meet the requirements of Idaho State Law and so that they are fair and uniform. The assessed values are determined by the economic forces of supply and demand. Whether or not you should file an appeal depends upon the evidence you have, and if you can prove that the value set by the Assessor’s Office is wrong. If you do have information that the Assessor’s Office does not have or know about, please contact us. For example, is your roof damaged or do you have water damage? Is there significant deferred maintenance that we should know about? These are all considerations that can have an effect on values.
Q7: When is the appeal deadline?
A7: Your appeal must be filed on the form specified by the Kootenai County Board of County Commissioners by the 4th Monday in June.
Q8: The Commissioner’s website (Property Assessment Appeal) indicates that Step 1 in the Appeals Process is to contact the Assessor’s Office. I have put a call into the Assessor’s Office, and I am waiting to hear back from someone. Does that mean that I have started an appeal?
A8: The answer is, No. The only way to file an appeal is to complete the proper appeal form from the County Commissioners webpage (Property Assessment Appeal) and you must turn in the appeal to the Commissioners’ Office by no later than the fourth Monday in June.