Bannock County Board of Equalization upholds assessor values in multiple property appeals

The Bannock County Board of Equalization on Friday heard public appeals of property assessments and voted to uphold the assessor’s valuation for four parcels, the board said at the close of the hearing.

Commissioner Jeff Huff opened the formal hearing and read the board’s role under Idaho law, saying the body’s responsibility is limited to determining whether the assessor properly determined market value for assessment purposes under Idaho Code section 63-502. "We are not here to discuss taxes, only property value," Huff said before witnesses were sworn.

Christopher Hill, who identified himself as the owner of a parcel on Marsh Creek Road, said he bought two adjacent parcels in 2021 for $320,000 and sold one this spring for $140,000, leaving him with the remaining parcel he says was effectively purchased for about $180,000. "Last year's [assessment] was at 371,000. And now this year, they're up to 438,000," Hill said, asking the board to reduce the assessed value.

Alyssa Noble, a residential property appraiser in the assessor’s office, responded that the subject property at 494 Marsh Creek Road has a 1967 house with roughly 3,078 finished square feet and is assessed at $438,398 (about $103 per square foot).…