Property tax seems to mean being taxed on the property that you own anywhere in Idaho. However that isn’t really how it works. Every home is assessed at a different price, depending on so many factors. There is raw land, farm/forest, farmland, residential and commercial and I haven’t even begun to list the exemptions.
We pay taxes. The revenue from taxes pay for the services that we have come to expect. City police, a county sheriff, enhanced 911 for emergencies, health care facilities , a library, roads, bridges, and schools are all a part of the property tax package. As a teacher my husband and I sometimes had difficult choices to make when deciding how to best utilize our resources, but I can never remember thinking we could do without the services that make our city function for all of us. What I want to make sure we process, is how to make the property tax do it’s intended job, without sacrificing our schools or other services. Taking the Maintenance & Operation for our schools portion out, and financing it in nother way would reduce property taxes by about 20%. The school districts would still be able to levy for increases they face in transportation costs, textbook renewal, staff development, as well as renovation and upkeep on buildings and grounds.

I don’t run or skip to the post office to pay our taxes , but I do rejoice that we live in a county which looks at alternatives and innovative methods of making the best use of our money. We may not always get it right, but it isn’t from lack of trying or purposely misleading the citizens of Nez Perce County.

Sincerely,
Liz Chavez