Right-wing group labels Boise mayor’s property tax plan as funding for ‘leftist agenda’
Earlier this month, Boise resident Katherine Horton received a political postcard in the mail.
A photograph of the mayor appeared alongside the words, “Take Action! Against McLean’s Property Tax Hike!”
In smaller type, it read, “Liberal Mayor Lauren McLean wants to hike your property taxes to fund her leftist agenda.”
Horton told the Idaho Statesman that she became frustrated.
“I find this type of politics pretty destructive,” she said.
The postcards, mailed to residents by a right-wing political action group, were sent as debate over property taxes continues to affect the Treasure Valley. In rapidly growing Boise, home values and taxes have increased markedly, and city officials argue that a statewide legislative fix is necessary to ease the burden on homeowners.
Some Boiseans complained about the postcards online, arguing that they were “hyperbolic misinformation,” as one Facebook user put it.
Idaho Freedom Action, the political arm of the right-wing Idaho Freedom Foundation, sent the postcards. The Freedom Foundation has advocated for consolidating taxing districts — cities, counties and other authorities — or limiting their ability to increase property taxes. The group also is a consistent critic of McLean and the city.
Idaho Freedom Action declined to comment for this article. In a message advocating for a petition on the group’s website, the group called McLean a “tax-and-spend socialist” who wants to “give big raises, hire dozens of new workers, and pay for her socialist climate action center.”
What’s this about?
Earlier this month, city property owners received their tax assessments, which are up about 30% in Ada County this year.
Property values have risen drastically in recent years, as more people move to the Treasure Valley. But increases in value don’t necessarily mean increases in tax rates. The assessments come out in late spring, but it is not until after taxing districts set their budgets that an individual’s property taxes are determined.
In Boise, McLean is proposing a $306 million budget, which is $30 million more than last year, according to a summary of the budget. Half of that growth would be paid for by federal stimulus money, passed under the Biden administration in March 2021. Included in the federal allocation is $10 million geared toward climate action, in an effort to convert city buildings to clean energy, preserve surface water and fund renewable electricity efforts.
As part of the increase, the mayor proposes a property tax increase of 2.45%. Under Idaho law, taxing districts can raise property taxes by up to 3% per year.
The city estimates that its hike would amount to a $38 increase for the average-priced home, although property owners could see their taxes go up for other reasons as well. More than half of the proposed budget increases would be for personnel expenses, both from hiring new staff and increases in wages to police and fire department employees, according to the budget book.
“City costs typically increase each year, mainly for personnel, of which a significant percentage is set by public safety labor contracts,” according to the budget book.
The city’s proposed budget would add close to 40 positions and also raise wages for employees in an effort to combat a high vacancy rate in a tight labor market, officials said.
Mayor’s reform proposals
McLean has said she is committed to providing Boiseans with affordable housing, as some local residents have been pushed into homelessness by skyrocketing rents.
During this year’s legislative session, McLean supported a new law to allow cities in Idaho to issue tax rebates to qualified residents, expanding an existing state program known as a “circuit breaker.” The city’s proposed budget for next fiscal year includes $1.2 million in funds for the proposed program, which is meant for low-income seniors, former prisoners of war, widows or widowers, and disabled people.
But the mayor said more comprehensive, statewide reforms are necessary to bring widespread relief.
“Unfortunately, there is not much a city can do on its own to impact this growing problem,” said a spokesperson for the city of Boise, Maria Weeg, in an email. “We need changes at the state level to provide the substantial relief homeowners are seeking. Right now, our homeowners are subsidizing commercial properties and the homeowners exemption isn’t keeping up with rising assessments. There’s also very little transparency on how properties are assessed.”
Residential property value is rising faster in Idaho than commercial property, which has meant that homeowners pay a higher portion of taxes — around 80% this year in Ada County, according to the assessor, Robert McQuade.
The state’s homeowners exemption allows property owners to write off 50% — capped at $125,000 — of their home from property taxes each year.
The exemption used to be indexed to property value increases, since rising values make a set dollar amount add up to less in savings each year. But the Republican-dominated Legislature got rid of indexing the benefit in 2016, and did not raise the maximum exemption above $100,000 until last year.
Since 2016, the value of the exemption has fallen from 47% of an average single-family home in Ada County to 23%, according to McQuade.
“We need change at the state level to ease the financial burdens Boiseans are feeling,” Weeg said, adding that McLean has “held property tax increases down while ensuring residents receive the support they need and expect.”
‘Meant to incite rather than to have a discussion’
Horton said that she is a lifelong Idahoan, originally from Nampa, and that the tenor of state politics has changed in recent years.
She said that the property tax postcard oversimplified the issue, implying that there wasn’t a budgeting process in place and deliberately inflaming residents.
“You can oppose the city property tax hike and leave it at that, you don’t have to use the wording that they do,” she said. “To me, a lot of this stuff is meant to incite rather than to have a discussion.”
She said too many issues have become overly politicized.
“So many of the issues that face this country are complex, and the solutions, if there are solutions, they require compromise and people of goodwill wanting to find the best solution they can,” she said. “And if people are just shouting at each other, we can’t do that.”
This story was originally published June 23, 2022 at 4:00 AM.
