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Ada County approves tax adjustments for Idaho Power after state court ruling
Summary
The Ada County Board of Commissioners approved tax-cancellation adjustments for Idaho Power covering tax years 2020–2022 following litigation that resulted in lower assessed values; the county will process refunds/credits and bill affected taxing districts for their proportionate shares.
The Ada County Board of Commissioners voted June 3 to approve tax-cancellation adjustments for Idaho Power covering tax years 2020, 2021 and 2022, implementing an order from the Idaho Supreme Court that reduced the company’s assessed values.
The action matters because the county collects property taxes on behalf of multiple local districts; refunds or credits to Idaho Power will be distributed proportionately among those districts unless a district chooses to levy to recoup its share. "Idaho Power owns what's called operating property," said Beth Law, Ada County treasurer, explaining the statutory and litigation context. "As operating property, they are assessed by the state. They are not assessed by the county assessor."
The treasurer summarized the litigation pathway that led to the adjustment: challenges at the State Board of Equalization and district court that were ultimately resolved by the Idaho Supreme Court in favor of Idaho Power and (separately) Avista, leading to reduced values. The county noted Idaho Power had paid taxes for the affected years; the court-ordered reduction creates an entitlement to a refund or credit for overpayment.
Commissioner Ryan Davidson moved to approve the tax-cancellation adjustments as listed on the agenda; the motion was seconded and carried with all commissioners saying "aye." The board authorized the chair to sign related documents.
Ada County officials said districts will have the option under state law to levy to recover their proportionate shares of the refund if they choose; otherwise the county will withhold the district shares from distributions. The treasurer framed the vote as ratifying the court order, not a voluntary reduction: "We are not contributing to that increase voluntarily on our own in Ada County," the presiding commissioner added, noting a public utilities filing by Idaho Power on rates was separate from the tax-cancellation matter.
The county identified the State Tax Commission, the State Board of Equalization and the Idaho Supreme Court as the legal bodies involved in the dispute; no additional local legislative action was required to implement the court decision. The board’s approval directs county staff to process the refunds/credits and adjust district distributions accordingly.
A motion to approve the adjustment carried unanimously. The board did not set a separate timeline in this session for the execution of refunds; county staff will proceed under normal administrative processes.
