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Bannock County board reduces assessed value for Pocatello estate to $1.3 million
Summary
The Bannock County Board of Equalization on an appeal adjusted the assessed value of a south Pocatello property (parcel RPRRSRV000901) to $1,300,000 for 2025 after hearing evidence from the owner and the county appraiser.
The Bannock County Commissioners Board of Equalization adjusted the 2025 assessed value of a south Pocatello property, parcel RPRRSRV000901, to $1,300,000 after a property-owner appeal heard on an unspecified date.
Appellant Paul Bitton, who identified himself as a real estate broker, told the board his assessed value had risen by about $282,000 from the prior year and argued the county's mass-appraisal coefficient overstated larger homes. "I have a larger home, out south of town over 9,000 square feet," Bitton said, adding that applying a standard coefficient to his home's square footage produced an "exaggerated effect on larger homes." He asked the board to reduce the assessment to about $1.2 million.
The assessor's office presented comparable sales and a price-per-square-foot analysis. Alyssa Noble, a residential appraiser in the Bannock County assessor's office, described the subject parcel as a two-story home built in 2008 with just over 10,000 square feet and said the county's comparables produced a price-per-square-foot figure near $139. "These comps do show that, according to the market...we're just about where we should be according to market," Noble said.
During discussion Commissioners questioned whether reliable high-end comparables exist in the local market and whether sales in Idaho Falls or Bonneville County were suitable comparisons. Commissioner Moser and Commissioner Bolger both said the lack of close comparables made adjustment appropriate to consider; Commissioner Bullock called the work difficult but acknowledged the appellant had presented a preponderance of evidence. The board then voted on a motion to reduce the assessed value to $1,300,000 for parcel RPRRSRV000901 (the motion noted the reduction applied "off the improvement"). The board announced the motion and members vocalized their support; a formal letter notifying the appellant of the decision will follow.
The board emphasized that its role under state law is limited to deciding market value for assessment purposes, not taxes, and that appellants have the right to further appeal the board's decision to the district court or the State Board of Tax Appeals.
The decision will be mailed to Bitton; the transcript records verbal "aye" votes but does not record a numerical roll-call tally in the public hearing record.
