Great Falls Tribune from Great Falls, Montana • Page 5

Tuesday, March 4, 1986 Great ails Tribune 5-A TRIBUNE METRO MONTANA New appraisal reduces rates on property tax County's tax value decreases: Tribune Capitol Bureau HELENA Cascade Coun' ty's taxable value has dropped-by $7.1 million 6.54 percent after the statewide reappraisal. That could mean lower property taxes for homeowners and commercial building owners if mill levies remain constant, according to state Revenue Director John LaFaver. Figures provided by the Revenue Department Monday showed that the only counties experiencing larger percentage losses than Cascade were Missoula with 7.43 percent and Custer with 8.31 percent. LEWIS AND CLARK County was the largest winner with a 10.09 percent increase in taxable value. Yellowstone County, the state's most populous county, "t-yL I l'; UgWm.li.

II I IJIi.ll I i ii in mmm wv a "piwii ga ty-fc" saesjsa 1 I 13 Li the LI '3 4 8 p.n. By CHARLES S. JOHNSON Tribune Capitol Bureau HELENA State Revenue Director John LaFaver announced Monday that property tax rates for homes and commercial businesses will drop from 8.55 percent to 3.86 percent, beginning with the first-half tax payments that are due in November. However, this lowering of rates does not mean that property taxes paid by the average taxpayer will drop, LaFaver said. The statewide property tax rate is being lowered under a 1985 law to offset the overall increase in property values over the last decade.

The recently completed statewide reappraisal of property substantially increased property values, LaFaver said. The average increase in value is 121 percent since the last appraisal was completed in 1979, he said. "Fortunately, the 1985 Legislature anticipated this increase and took action to limit property taxes," he said. Reappraisal is an adjustment to bring the values of all Montana property up to date. Although some properties that have become overvalued or undervalued more than the average will see some changes in taxes paid, the average Montanan should see little difference in his property taxes resulting from reappraisal, LaFaver has said.

"The Legislature's approach to property tax limitation assures that inflated property values will not lead to spiraling property taxes," he said, "and yet it allows local taxpayers to meet educational and other needs within a stable tax base." If California had adjusted its property tax rates as Montana is doing to reflect increased property values, the Golden State likely would not have faced the property tax revolt it did under Proposition 13 in the late 1970s, LaFaver said. LaFaver said the Revenue Department wanted to make the new property tax rates public at this time to provide ample notice to local governments for planning. An example provided by the Revenue Department shows how the system will work: Before the current reappraisal took place, if someone owned a house last year with a property value of $40,000 computed by the county appraiser under the last reappraisal, that $40,000 value would be multiplied times the tax rate of 8.55 percent. That would produce a taxable value of $3,420. The $3,420 taxable value would be multiplied by the mill levy set by local governments.

If the mill levy were 400 mills, the owner of this house would have paid property taxes of $1,368. Under the recently completed reappraisal, the same house that was valued at $40,000 now has a property value of $89,000 today. The $89,000 would be multiplied times the new tax rate of 3.86 percent to yield a taxable value of $3,435. This $3,435 taxable value next would be multiplied by the mill levy of 400 mills, which would produce property taxes of $1,374. Thus in the example, property taxes for the house would rise by $6 See TAXES, 6A had a 4.21 percent gain.

r-i Statewide, the average increase in county taxable value was 0.07 percent, according to the Revenue Department. Taxable value is determined by applying the tax rate for a particular class of property to its market value determined by the county appraiser. "Whether you gain or lose is a reflection on how robust the real estate market is," LaFaver said. The more robust the local real estate market, the higher the gain in taxable value, he said. "Land and improvement values are expected to decline $5,997,000 (from 1985 to 1986) because market values on property did not.

increase as much as the statewide average," a Revenue Department analysis of Cascade County said. ANOTHER FACTOR is the amount of land once classified as agricultural and taxed at a lower rate is now classified as tract land and being taxed higher, LaFaver said. The 1985 Legislature imposed tighter qualifications for land to be classified as agriculture. The 1985 Legislature also increased the tax rate on railroad property but cut the rate on telephone company and pipeline property. The net effect is a $740,000 eduction in taxable value in Cascade County, according to the Revenue Department.

It also lost $377,000 in taxable value because of 1985 legislative changes in the way agricultural implements and motorcycles are taxed, the agency said. committee The study also found that the pro-Israel PACs' contributions may have been the fastest growing of all interest groups during the past five years. Pro-Israel PAC contributions increased by nine times between the 1980 and 1984 elections, from $373,850 in 1980 to $3.4 million in 1984. In comparison, congressional contributions by all PACs only doubled during the period. "An examination of pro-Israel PACs provides a classic case study of the PAC problem in our political system the proliferation of PACs, the increase of PAC dollars, the concentration of interest group money in key congressional com-mittees and the single-minded focus of PAC giving," said Com- mon Cause President Fred Wer-theimer.

Common Cause listed 18 of the 65 pro-Israel PACs that each con-tributed $100,000 or more from Jan. 1, 1981 to Dec. 31, 1985, topped by the National PAC, which made $1.35 million In contributions. of the 18 PACs had titles that de-1 scribed their specific political lean- ing. Other examples were: Joint Action Committee, Desert Caucus, Americans for Good Government and Arizona Politically Interested Citizens.

I Del Guerra receives Jefferson Award Baucus receives $50,000 in funds from pro-Israel action 4 i i jgrfS A received national Jefferson Awards in the past, J.O. "Boots" Asbjornson of Winifred in 1978 and Dallas Doyle of Butte in 1982. The Montana Television Network and the American Institute for Public Service are co-sponsors of the award, which is intended to recognize people who are performing significant public service, largely without recognition. "We're really thrilled that a Great Falls woman won," said Norma Ashby, coordinator of the Montana Jefferson Awards program. Claire Del Guerra is a Black Eagle native who worked as a teacher in Cascade County rural schools and county home extension agent in Hill County before marrying Serafino Del Guerra in 1955.

After he died in an industrial accident at the Anaconda Co. plant, she taught at See AWARD, SA Claire Del Guerra, who has served Cascade County as a county extension agent and leader in community affairs, is one of 10 Mon-tanans selected to receive the Jefferson Award for outstanding public service benefiting local communities. Other winners announced Monday are Vera Anderson, Laurel; CD. "Bud" Beagle, Missoula; Judith Bitt-ner, Bozeman; Dr. Katherine Dawson, Helena; Charles Hahnkamp, Melrose; Nora Hanson, Big Timber; John Nash, Missoula; Robert Schons-berg, Wise River; and Vanell Thorn, Lavina.

-The winners were selected from 350 nominations from across the state. The Jefferson Award medallions will be presented by Gov. Ted. Schwinden at 1:30 p.m. April 10 at the state Capitol.

Mnntana winnprs will he consid ered for one of the five national Jefferson Awards. Two Montanans have tt 1 xiaraee 10 By JAY GOLEY Tribune Business Editor wont is to Degin mis wee uii mc destruction of the old Great Falls YMCA building, which will be removed to make way for a Hardee's restaurant. Dave Guckenberg, president of Northcentral Foods the Minne-l $216,875. Tenth on the list was Sen. Al Gore, with $63,050.

Montana's other senator, Democrat John Melcher, received $5,000 during the 1981 to 1984 period from the pro-Israel PACs, all of it during the 1981-1982 period before Melch-er's 1982 re-election. U.S. Rep. Pat Williams, D-west-em district, received $2,750 from the pro-Israel PACs, all of it during the 1981-1982 period, while U.S. Rep.

Ron Marlenee, R-eastern district, received none during the 1981-1984 period, according to Common Cause. The top 10 recipients among House candidates during the period ranged from $191,525, former U.S. Rep. Clarence Long, to $28,250 for U.S. Rep.

Robert Torri-celli, Topping the 1985 list with more than $107,000 in contributions from the pro-Israel PACs was Sen. Robert Kasten, chairman of the Foreign Operations Subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee. Another subcommittee member, Sen. Arlen Specter, was second, with $70,375, while Sen. Alan Cranston, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was third with $57,250.

By PETER JOHNSON Tribune Staff Writer Political action committees advocating strong U.S. support of Israel gave congressional candidates more than $6.1 million in the last five years including more than $50,000 to U.S. Sen. Max Baucus, according to a report by Common Cause. Common Cause, a public-interest lobbying group, also said the 65 different pro-Israel PAC groups contributed more than $850,000 to congressional candidates in 1985 alone, with nearly half $397,625 going to 34 members of Congress serving on key committees with jurisdiction over U.S.

policy toward Israel. Baucus received $52,250 from the pro-Israel PACs during the period from 1981 to 1984, with $51,050 of it coming in the 1983-1984 period just before his 1984 re-election. However, Baucus was not among the top 10 recipients among Senate candidates even during the 1981-1984 period. According to Common Cause, the list was topped by Sen. Paul Simon, receiving $274,144 from the pro-Israel PACs, and Senate candidate James Hunt, Democrat of North Carolina, Claire Del Guerra vifr A i sue Hotel, and two duplexes on a strip of land that runs along Park Drive from First Avenue North to Second Avenue North.

Guckenberg said all of the buildings will be demolished. The restaurant, to face west toward Gibson Park, will seat 140 pa-See HARDEE'S, 6A 1 51 renuiiu uvcr apolis firm that will own the $1.2 million fast-food restaurant, said the papers transferring ownership were signed Monday. The YMCA destruction could be complete in as little as two weeks, he said. Northcentral Foods bought the old YMCA and its parking lot, the Foley.