Appraisal system still needs solution

There’s little to object to in the Montana Supreme Court’s recent decision upholding the state’s six-year property reappraisal cycle, but it still might make sense to change to a more frequent cycle.

The court was unified in its 5-0 ruling and seemed to demonstrate an actual display of judicial restraint with its underlying rationale — that a lower court ruling striking down the six-year cycle amounted to an improper exercise of legislative power by the court.

Bozeman District Court Judge Holly Brown “effectively inserted a provision into the statute” in requiring the state Department of Revenue to conduct mid-cycle reappraisals.

Brown had ruled that some taxpayers end up paying a disproportionate share of taxes when appraisals overvalue properties, while others pay less on undervalued properties, and that amounts to a violation of equal protections under the state Constitution.

But the Supreme Court essentially ruled that since the reappraisal system is applied equally to all taxpayers, it is not an equal protection violation just because there are different outcomes.

That said, a system that would produce better outcomes seems like a worthwhile pursuit, and we strongly encourage the Legislature to address that task. Lawmakers did bring up legislation this year that would have led to reappraisals occurring every other year. But the legislation didn’t pass, partly because of reservations about the additional cost and also because the new system would involve the use of aerial photography to monitor properties for improvements that would change values. For some folks, aerial appraisals seem kind of Big Brother creepy.

That may be, but a shorter reappraisal cycle would be more responsive to subtle real-estate market changes. Appraisals would more accurately reflect true market prices, and it seems that’s something most property tax payers would desire.

Editorials represent the majority opinion of the Daily Inter Lake’s editorial board.