Bannock County Commissioners recall, Idaho (2019)

An effort to recall all three Bannock County Commissioners—Steven Brown, Ernie Moser, and Terrel Tovey—did not go to a vote in 2019.^[1] The effort began in July 2019, and to get the recall on the ballot in March 2020, recall supporters had to gather 9,101 signatures by October 7, 2019. The group Pocatello-Bannock Home Owners Alliance said they held the commissioners and the county assessor responsible for how property assessments were handled in 2019.^[2][3][4] A recall effort against County Assessor Sheri Davies was also started in July 2019.^[5]

Property assessments in Bannock County increased by an average of 20% in 2019, according to ABC Local News 8.^[5] A total of 3,090 property tax appeals were filed in 2019, compared to an estimated 15 in 2018. The county was able to get through 610 of the appeals before the deadline on July 26, 2019. County commissioners issued a 10% blanket reduction to anyone who did not have their appeal heard. Out of the appeals that were heard, 110 were reassessed back to 2018 values, 202 were upheld, and the rest were reduced, according to ABC Local News 8.^[6]

Recall supporters

The group Pocatello-Bannock Home Owners Alliance started the recall effort. They said the recall efforts stemmed from the increase in property assessments, assessments going out late, and lack of communication from the county.^[7]

Claudia Ortega, leader of the recall efforts against the commissioners and the assessor, said she felt the commissioners had not taken enough responsibility for the assessment issues. "They, along with the assessor, knew back in January that they were going to be doing theses valuations," Ortega said. "They could have had press conferences, they could have let people know this was coming down the pike, let people know what their plan was."^[7]

Ortega also said she thought the blanket 10% reduction in property assessments of unheard appeals was a violation of due process.^[7] “It seems so arbitrary,” Ortega said. “For a government process it should be the same for everyone. It shouldn’t be that 600 people got hearings and more than 2,000 others get a 10 percent reduction without a hearing. It doesn’t make any sense. I can’t wait to see what they are going to come up with next. It seems like they are just pulling things out of a hat. This certainly can’t be the best we can get as voters.”^[8]

Recall opponents

The Bannock County Commissioners held a press conference on July 26, 2019, after they announced the blanket 10% reductions. “We took all of the appeals that were not heard and based upon issues we’ve seen in other appeals, the Board of Equalization felt that those needed to be addressed in a formal manner,” Tovey said at the press conference. “We took their assessed values for this year and we reduced them by 10 percent across the board on all of the unheard appeals. If they still have issues with that they can appeal to the state.”^[8]

Tovey said the decision for a 10% reduction came after seeing a trend of appealed assessments that were increased 3% to 7% too high.^[8]

Tovey said that not all appeals received a reduction, though none saw an increase. “There were some market areas that the trend (of recent home sales) supported the (assessment) increase,” Tovey said. “We understand that Bannock County is growing.... You cannot have a property stay stagnant and not at least be reflective of the rates of inflation. A property that is assessed for 10 years cannot stay the same in value.”^[8]

Tovey said the large number of appeals came from a lack of communication from the county, assessments being mailed out two weeks late, and a lack of understanding among homeowners about the property assessment process. “There are always lessons to be learned,” Tovey said. “People have said this is some kind of a conspiracy, but I don’t think any elected official sat around a table and thought about how we could get people to yell and scream at us. I also don’t think anybody fully understands or comprehends the size of problem and issue that occurred. Our county is not built to hear 3,000 appeals. It just shouldn’t happen that way.”^[8]

In response to the recall effort, Moser said it was the people's right to recall elected officials. “It’s disappointing, but I can tell you the commissioners want to do the very best they can. They are working very, very hard, and for the rules that we follow, we’re doing a good job,” Moser said.^[9]

Path to the ballot

See also: Laws governing recall in Idaho

The recall effort against the three commissioners began on July 26, 2019, but failed to gain enough signatures to go to a vote.^[1][8] Idaho law gives recall supporters 75 days to circulate petitions. Recall supporters had to gather 9,101 signatures (20% of voters registered in the county for the November 2018 election) by October 7, 2019. If successful, the recall election will be held in March 2020.^{[2][4][7][10]}

Recall supporters had the option to try to get the recall on the ballot on November 5, 2019, but they would have had a shorter timeline to turn in signatures. The deadline for the November election was September 16, 2019. Recall supporters said they decided not to pursue the November election date as voter turnout was expected to be low.^[2][4][7]

See also

• Bannock County, Idaho
• Sheri Davies recall, Bannock County, Idaho (2019)
• Recall campaigns in Idaho
• Political recall efforts, 2019
• County commission recalls

External links

• Search Google News for this topic

Footnotes

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