County defers decision after health-trust asks to raise property tax exemption from 43% to 69%

Clark Bidden, chief financial officer for the health trust identified in the appeal, asked the Bannock County Board of Commissioners, sitting as the Board of Equalization, to increase a partial property tax exemption for 1001 North Seventh Avenue from 43% to 69% and to apply the same calculation to an additional building.

Bidden said the building at 1001 North Seventh Avenue is a 50,640-square-foot facility (parcel number 152800) that houses multiple health-related tenants, and he presented an allocation worksheet showing current leases and tenant status. “I’m requesting that we increase that from 43% to 69%,” Bidden said during the appeal presentation.

The request followed a May 15 administrative approval that previously granted a 43% exemption for that parcel. Bidden told the board he calculated the 69% figure by excluding for-profit tenants and including square footage occupied by governmental entities and 501(c)(3) nonprofits such as Health West, a free clinic identified in the packet, the D6 treatment center and Centers for Hope. Bidden said some tenants moved into the building from other locations and that his worksheet shows the usable square footage, percentage allocations and annual revenue for each tenant.

An assessor’s representative clarified the scope of the discussion: “Many of these are 501(c)(3)s, which is tax-exempt, but that’s not property tax-exempt,” the Assessor’s Office said, noting that IRS income-tax exemptions differ from property-tax exemptions. County legal counsel also confirmed the board could discuss exemption status while the Board of Equalization reviewed the appeal, saying the exchange did not conflict with the valuation discussion.

Several commissioners expressed concern about possible “double dipping,” saying the county already provides grants or subsidized rent to some of the same organizations and that a property tax benefit might effectively duplicate public support. One commissioner noted that some tenants receive reduced rent through arrangements with the trust while being charged a higher market rate on paper, and asked whether the county should continue both rent discounts and expanded tax exemptions.

Bidden acknowledged discounts and said the trust sometimes charges a higher listed rent and then provides a discounted rate to certain nonprofit tenants; he also noted other properties owned by the trust are leased entirely to an entity identified in the packet as PMC and were not part of this appeal.

Commissioner Trisha Moser asked for time to review the materials and bring the issue back to the board. The board agreed to table the appeal and resume discussion at the board’s Monday session; Christie (county staff) was directed to contact Bidden with scheduling details. A motion to table the item until Monday was made and approved by voice vote; no roll-call tally was recorded in the minutes.

The board did not render a final decision on the requested increase. The appeal remains on the Board of Equalization’s agenda for Monday, when commissioners said they will review the trust’s allocation worksheets and supporting documents before taking formal action.