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Dear Casper,
Last year when the Revenue Committee met on two separate occasions, the need for property tax reform was brought to their attention by a couple of Natrona County commissioners. I was pleased that the three representatives on the committee from Natrona County supported change.
It failed in committee because many other legislative representatives stated that this was a Natrona County issue and not a statewide issue.
It amazes me how the ones that failed to support change last year are now yelling the loudest for change.
Only the representatives from Natrona and Teton counties were willing to look at how to correct the problem. I hope that our legislators will take a long, hard look at getting a bill passed this year that will truly help the citizens of the state. The citizens end up paying high property taxes because there is not a fair and equitable process. We need to ensure that when there are bidding wars for houses, that the longtime residents aren’t the ones that have to pay for it.
We saw (neighborhood adjustment) multipliers on properties in Natrona County as high as 2.12 of the actual value to bring them in compliance. Most of the homes west of town had a 1.96 multiplier on them. You should never be taxed for more than the actual value of your property.
I urge everyone to reach out and get a commitment from your legislators that they will work on getting the issues with property taxes corrected. In addition, please support the county commissioners having more authority and latitude in the hearing process. This needs to be changed by statute. Now is the time to reach out before the general election.
Dave North
Casper
