North Idaho Briefs July 13, 2011

Ed Corridor work to cause water

outage near NIC

A water outage is planned for early this morning due to construction on the Education Corridor property at North Idaho College.

Homes, businesses, and buildings along River Avenue west of the Park Drive intersection will be affected beginning at 4 a.m. while construction crews work on the water line. This includes Fort Grounds homeowners along River Avenue; the Fort Ground Grill; River Apartments; Jeffries TV; and several North Idaho College buildings including Winton-Post Hall, River Building, and the Headwaters Complex.

The water service is expected to be re-established east of the Fort Ground Grill by 7 a.m.

Commissioners uphold prosecutor tax appeal ruling

The Kootenai County commissioners upheld the county prosecutor's opinion on Monday that a taxpayer can't appeal an assessment on land he doesn't own.

The officials, acting as the Board of Equalization, voted unanimously to dismiss an appeal filed by Spirit Lake resident Larry Spencer concerning property owned by Silverwood Theme Park.

Commissioner Dan Green said he preferred to rely on the recommendation of Prosecutor Barry McHugh, who had interpreted that Idaho statute only allows individuals to appeal assessments on land they own, or if they are representing the property owner.

McHugh, sitting in on the commissioners' discussion at the county Administration Building, acknowledged that some counties have made a different interpretation.

But he stood by his recommendation.

"It's the same advice I'm giving today," McHugh said. "Could it (the statute) be better drafted? Absolutely."

Spencer, who had come armed with documentation showing that some Latah County residents had appealed a private college's assessment in 2005, said he still plans to appeal the commissioners' decision to the state Board of Tax Appeals.

Besides the Silverwood property, he added, there are also some Athol property assessments he wants to appeal, which he believes have been undervalued.

"I'm disappointed in the position of Kootenai County," Spencer said after the vote. "It strikes me this is very much not in the public interest, but serves only to protest the Assessor's Office from embarrassment."

Spencer wants to appeal Silverwood property he believes shouldn't have qualified for a timber exemption. He believes that state statute doesn't directly forbid taxpayers from appealing any assessment.

The prosecutor had determined last week that Spencer did not have legal standing to make the appeal. The commissioners made their vote at what would have been Spencer's appeal hearing, if his standing had been deemed legal.