COEUR d’ALENE — After Kootenai County Assessor Bèla Kovacs deemed political rival Allyson Knapp ineligible for a homeowner’s exemption on the Rathdrum property she owns, commissioners voted Wednesday to block the move, upholding Knapp’s exemption.

Commissioners Bruce Mattare and Leslie Duncan both voted to overrule the assessor’s determination of ineligibility, while Marc Eberlein abstained from the vote due to his personal relationship with the assessor. 

The decision came after more than a month of public meetings before the Board of Equalization and hundreds of pages of documentation, most of which were proffered by the assessor. 

“The assessor admitted there is no single-document test to establish residency, but he did not produce documents that confirmed residency at another address,” Mattare said. 

Knapp is a former chief deputy assessor who has announced her intention to run against Kovacs in the May 2026 Republican primary election. She first went before commissioners in December to appeal the notice of ineligibility she received from the assessor’s office. 

“He’s trying to say I’m not a full-time resident so I can’t run against him,” Knapp told The Press at the time. “He’s wrong.” 

In early December, a private courier hand-delivered a letter from the assessor’s office to a property Knapp owns in Newman Lake, Wash. Knapp said she doesn’t live in the Washington home. 

The letter, dated Nov. 26 and signed by Kovacs, said his office “is investigating the ownership and validity and status” of the homeowner’s exemption on Knapp’s Rathdrum property. 

“Anyone who falsely claims a homeowner’s exemption when they in fact do not legitimately qualify for the program is committing a serious crime,” Kovacs wrote. “Our office has confirmed that the subject property listed above is receiving the homeowner’s exemption for which it appears not to qualify.” 

Kovacs told The Press that “five or six” people approached him in public places and said they believed Knapp is a Washington resident, prompting the investigation. He said he was reluctant to bring the investigation at first because he knew the action would come under public scrutiny. 

“It was a lightning rod,” he said. 

Knapp has been the Rathdrum property’s sole owner since 2018. She’s been registered to vote at that address since 2022, according to public records, and her driver’s license lists it. She also provided commissioners with vehicle registrations listing the Rathdrum address and utility bills for the home in her name. 

“My Rathdrum property is my one and only residence,” she told the board. 

Mattare questioned why Kovacs didn’t look into Knapp’s driver’s license and voter registration information until after his office notified her of ineligibility. 

“That is the basic litmus test an average person would reasonably use to determine if one was a resident or not,” Mattare said. “Instead, the assessor’s documentation focused on business and mailing address, which is not the same as residence address.” 

Kovacs emphasized that no single document can prove residency, and records should be considered as a whole.

He suggested commissioners compel Knapp to produce additional evidence, including records of her mailing address history dating back to 2005, a report of all parcels ordered and delivered through her Amazon account, records of an “internal inspection” of the Washington home and affidavits from neighbors attesting to her comings and goings. 

“When questioned whether these documents would change the assessor’s mind, he stated no,” Duncan said. “What was the point of suggesting the (commissioners) request those documents?” 

Former chief deputy assessor Dyson Savage told commissioners last month that Knapp claimed the Rathdrum property as a rental on her tax returns in 2022 and 2023 and did not file Idaho income taxes for those years, citing information he said he received from the Idaho State Tax Commission. 

“She cannot be an Idaho resident, even though she had her voter registration and things,” he said. 

Knapp said she rents a room in the home to a family member and reports that income on her taxes. She also produced a letter from her accountant stating that she filed Idaho tax returns for the years in question.

Reba Gritnis, a former administrative manager in the assessor’s office, told commissioners last week that Kovacs’ actions were outside normal practice. 

If county employees have concerns about a homeowner’s exemption, she said they contact the property owner by phone or mail before any decision is made, not by private courier after the fact. 

“I don’t normally speak up like this, but this is so egregious and petty,” Gritnis said. “I feel like this is an attack on a political opponent and it’s disgraceful.” 

Kovacs declined to answer whether his office has investigated any other homeowner’s exemption to this extent. 

“I went to extraordinary lengths with this because it needed extra attention,” he said on Wednesday. “I’ve never had this situation occur before.” 

Mattare suggested that Kovacs might sue the county over the board’s decision. 

“There is a very high likelihood that, if the board votes to maintain the appellant’s homestead exemption, the assessor will want to spend valuable taxpayer dollars in what appears to be the use of government as a weapon to persecute a political opponent,” he said. 

Kovacs told The Press that he’ll consult with the county’s legal counsel on the matter. 

Knapp said she’s glad to have the issue resolved. 

“I really hope he doesn’t do this to anyone else,” she said. 

    Kootenai County Assessor Bèla Kovacs reviews documents during a meeting before county commissioners.
  

    Kootenai County Commissioners Bruce Mattare and Leslie Duncan voted this week to overturn Assessor Bèla Kovacs' determination that a Rathdrum property owner was ineligible for a homeowner's exemption.