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Kootenai County waives penalties after county records showed wrong address; credit applied to future tax bill
Summary
The Kootenai County Board of Commissioners approved waiving accrued interest and penalties for two parcels after county records showed an erroneous address change that prevented the owner from receiving tax bills; the waived amounts will be applied to the owner’s future tax balance.
On April 8, 2026, the Kootenai County Board of Commissioners approved a request to waive accrued interest and penalties on two parcels after county staff traced unpaid taxes to an internal address change in county records that prevented the owner from receiving bills.
The treasurer’s office told the board the owner found the delinquent taxes after staff discovered the issue during a title search. "We had a correct address at it when she bought the parcels," said Jill Smith, Chief Deputy Treasurer. "About a year later, for no reason that we can find, we changed the address here at the county. We changed it to an address that she had no association with, and so she was not receiving bills." Smith said the treasurer’s office therefore supported a waiver of interest and penalties because the county’s address change created culpability.
Orrin McBride, who said he was representing the applicant by telephone, told the commissioners the accrued penalties and interest were a large number and that his client did not necessarily expect a refund check. "It could absolutely be applied towards the next balance owed," McBride said, adding that his clients have a record of timely payments on their other Kootenai County properties and corrected the address as soon as they discovered the problem.
Board members and treasurer staff discussed logistics of applying any credited amount. Jill Smith said the treasurer’s office prefers to retain the funds and apply the refunded penalties and interest to the parcel on which they were paid. Staff also noted the current tax year was already paid and that the credit would go toward future bills.
A motion was made to approve the request for adjustments for AINs 117980 and 108381 and to apply the refunded penalties and interest to the applicant’s future tax balance. The motion was seconded and the chair announced, "Motion carries." No members of the public spoke on the item. The board adjourned at 11:08 a.m.
