Letter: Property tax issues go to state office

Dear Editor:

At a recent social gathering I overheard a discussion on property taxes. I was surprised to hear the county treasurers being blamed for increases in property taxes. My last retirement was as an appraiser for the Department of Revenue State of Montana, Cascade County. To set the record straight, the state legislature has established an appraisal cycle to determine the values of real property according to inflation. This is necessary to provide an equitable assessment to cover state and community operations funding according to the inflation of their costs.

Our present highly intelligent and efficient county treasurer Mrs. Nancy Higgins has the responsibility to bill property owners. Disagreements with property values should be made with the state Department of Revenue office.

Harold “Hal” Cole

Libby