Valley County Commissioners Vote To Reduce Amount Of Mills Levied On Valley County Residents

The Valley County Commissioners voted on Oct. 4 to reduce the amount of mills levied on Valley County taxpayers which will reduce the tax amount paid by $500,000.

Valley County joins virtually every county in Montana in reducing the amount of mills levied for the State Equalization Fund, County Elementary Equalization Tuition Fund and County High School Equalization Tuition Fund.

This will save Valley County taxpayers $500,000 and reduce the amount of money that is passed on to the State General Fund.

The commissioners said they believe the dramatically higher property values on the books as a result of this year’s property reappraisal cycle mean levying the full 95 mills would violate a longstanding statute that caps how fast local government tax collections can grow. While the rates for most local government property taxes levied in Montana are recalibrated to align with budget needs as property values change, the 95 mills are an exception in that they produce a tax that’s directly proportional to property values.

Counties have insisted that there’s ample room in the state General Fund to offset lower property tax collections. The Gianforte administration and education advocates, however, have argued that scaling back the equalization property tax will jeopardize school budgets and, in the long run, force homeowners to pay more to support their local schools as the equalization tax directs fewer dollars from highly valued industrial and resort properties to schools outside those properties’ immediate districts.

The commissioners stated this will not affect education funding as the State of Montana has already set the amount public education will be funded for the next two fiscal years.

The State of Montana currently has a $600 million general fund surplus and will have to backfill the education funding out of the general fund.

The State of Montana has filed suit against Montana Counties asking the courts to force the counties to fully tax county residents as required by the Montana Department of Revenue.

That lawsuit was filed Oct. 2 against Missoula County but virtually all Montana Counties are reducing the amount of taxes levied against Montana taxpayers.