POCATELLO — Sizable increases in assessed valuations may once again be looming for many Bannock County property owners, following another year of strong growth in local housing prices.

Bannock County Assessor Sheri Davies said during a Friday morning press conference her office is on track to mail new assessment notices to property owners on or before a June 1 deadline.

“We are seeing values going up consistently. We are still in a housing crisis nationwide,” Davies said, explaining the local housing supply remains insufficient to meet demand.

Though Davies offered no specific numbers regarding her forthcoming assessment notices, Eli Townsend, president of the Greater Pocatello Association of Realtors, said the county saw a 9.78% increase in the average home price in 2019 compared with the prior year. Townsend said home prices have also been up by nearly 10% during the first quarter of this year.

Last summer, more than 3,000 county property owners appealed whopping increases to their assessed valuations. Furthermore, a group of citizens launched a failed attempt to recall Davies and all three Bannock County Commissioners from office.

The State Board of Tax Appeals has wrapped up its hearings on the last of those appeals.

“We are still receiving those decisions, and it’s very mixed,” Davies said. “There have been some adjustments that the Board of Tax Appeals have made and there have been some that have been upheld.”

Davies acknowledged last year’s tax assessments were “painful,” attributing the lofty increases to the combination of rising housing prices and the failure of her predecessors to keep assessed valuations up to pace with actual market values.

Having heard widespread criticism that her numbers were inflated, Davies stands by her office’s work. On average, Davies said last summer’s assessments were slightly on the low end — at 96 percent of actual market value — and she said sales made during the past year have come in above the assessed valuations.

“In some areas values went up 50 to 60 percent, and sadly that was accurate,” Davies said. “Other areas didn’t need to go up nearly as much.”

Townsend agrees the county was “not assessed more than the home values were.”

Though the market hasn’t cooled any during the past year, Davies is encouraged that at least the county won’t also have to play catch-up this year.

“From what I’m hearing from other counties is they’re finding if they didn’t take that big increase last year they’re having to take that this year,” Davies said.

Assessed valuations are used for taxing purposes, with property owners paying a set percentage of their values to the local taxing entities. As the county’s tax base increases and its values rise, taxing entities can lower their levies without sacrificing revenue.

“What we also saw last year was that our mill levies — our tax rates — went down,” Davies said. “Bannock County doesn’t have the highest tax rates in the state anymore. We’re more towards 14th out of 44 counties.”

The two candidates running in the May 19 Republican primary for Bannock County Commission have both weighed in on the challenges Davies and her office have faced.

The incumbent, Ernie Moser, told the Journal she should factor in how the COVID-19 crisis affects household finances when making her calculations.

“I think we need to be a lot more considerate of what’s happening now and include that in those assessments,” Moser said.

Davies said her office is watching closely for any changes in the market related to the pandemic. Thus far, however, the market remains strong, and she’s required to issue notices that reflect market values.

Townsend concurs.

“During the pandemic, we have been going strong ... there’s been nothing to impact prices,” Townsend said.

Davies emphasized the state offers the Property Tax Reduction, Property Tax Deferral and Veterans 100% Service-Connected Property Tax programs to help people who may be low income or in need of assistance with their taxes. The State Tax Commission has extended the deadline to apply for those programs to June 15 due to the health crisis.

Moser’s primary challenger, former Inkom Mayor Joel Jolley, said he would support having only 20% of county properties adjusted in a single year.

While 20% of properties receive an in-person site visit each year, Davies emphasized that state law requires assessors to adjust all of their property valuations every year.

In January, a State Tax Commission audit found many of the county’s agricultural assessments were not in compliance. The tax commission discovered many irrigated farms in Bannock County had been misclassified as dry-land farms, which are taxed at a much lower rate.

Davies said the county has hired an expert in agricultural assessments and worked closely on remedying the situation with the tax commission, and the issue is now resolved.