Right Wing Group is All for Private Property Rights . . .Unless

by | Jul 30, 2024 | Guest Articles

This editorial was published in the Missoula Current.

The American Prairie recently announced two property acquisitions in Phillips County, one of the seven counties in which we own property. Chuck Denowh, policy director for United Property Owners of Montana, used this announcement to question our presence in Central Montana.

Mr. Denowh lists a “parade of horribles” regarding American Prairie, accusing us of hastening the decline of central Montana’s agricultural economy and communities and threatening Montana’s general fund revenues by our non-profit status. He even holds us responsible for increases in food prices.

Mark Twain quipped, “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.” Here’s what we know:

Around 62 percent of Montana’s land is dedicated to agriculture with more than 58 million acres of farms and ranches. A recent article about American Prairie in Gun Dog Magazine noted, “If American Prairie is afflicting the local economy, it hasn’t shown up in the data. In fact, unemployment in the region has gradually fallen since American Prairie was established, and population is up slightly. The agricultural sector is currently at a ten year high.”

In 2023, 89% of our total land base was leased to local cattle ranchers supporting more than seven thousand head of cattle. On lands where our herd of 900 bison graze, American Prairie pays a per capita tax 2.7 times higher than those fees charged for cattle.

American Prairie pays property taxes for land, vehicles, and equipment, just like every other rancher. Staff and lessees living on American Prairie land or in nearby communities pay into their local tax bases. American Prairie contributes to increased revenue from lodging taxes as we continue to promote visitation in the region. In the last four years, American Prairie has paid more than $573,000 in taxes (real, personal, use, etc.) to the counties where we own property.

America’s farmers, the world’s most productive, annually produce food surpluses that last year supported exports worth $175 billion. The recent increases in the cost of food are an inflationary phenomenon driven by a massive injection of federal money into the nation’s economy.

Land prices are increasing across the United States, including ranch and farmland in Montana. The 2022 USDA Land Values Summary found the value of pasture land in the state rose by 10.7 percent per acre between 2021 and 2022, a little less than the nationwide average increase of 11.5 percent. Data like this indicates that American Prairie is not driving the cost of land.

The growth of American Prairie has little influence on the long-term demographic and economic trends in Central Montana. Extended drought, market fluctuations, international trade policies, personal family decisions, and global integrated agricultural markets have much larger impacts.

We buy land from willing sellers and are but one player in the marketplace. We pay market rates and are limited by IRS regulations from paying more than 10 percent above appraised value. Having an additional buyer in the market place is surely a benefit, and we are helping families secure their futures.

American Prairie is organized in section 501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. As such we are exempt from business income tax and our donors receive a tax benefit. It is interesting to note that Montana’s property tax system annually exempts over $50 million of property taxes for tax-exempt organizations and certain tax-exempt types of property.

Montana’s non-profits play important and often vital roles in our communities. They provide support for cultural and religious institutions, fill gaps in health care, and offer enhanced educational opportunities. Instilled during our nation’s founding, our deeply ingrained culture of philanthropy is the envy of the world. If Mr. Denowh wishes to campaign to change this situation, I wish him well.

A final note: Mr. Denowh represents an organization allegedly supporting property rights and limited government. Yet he is the ringleader of efforts to use the power of the State to attack the legitimate business practices of American Prairie. Isn’t it ironic that a property rights group seeks to use the cohesive force of government to intervene in the peaceful and voluntary transactions of consenting parties?

Pete Geddes is American Prairie’s Vice President and Chief External Relations Officer. He has been with the organization since 2011.

Tryon’s Tax Plan

Tryon’s Tax Plan

by | Jul 22, 2024 | City

Following the City Commission’s vote to approve the city budget, Commissioner Rick Tryon posted a tax plan of sorts on his Facebook page outlining his ideas to solve the City’s financial woes.  He did not explain in his post that the fundamental problem facing Great Falls, and all other municipalities in Montana, is the hostility of the State Legislature and the numerous statutes they have passed making it difficult for cities to govern themselves.  Probably most important among those is capping increases to city budgets at one half the rate of inflation.  In the interests of space, we won’t go into that here and focus instead on Tryon’s specific proposals. Below are WTF406’s responses to his specific proposals

Tryon’s Recommendation For State Government:

Exempt all homeowners 65 or older from residential property tax.  This one sounds nice, because we have visions of little old grannies who can’t afford their property tax being kicked out of their family home.  The reality is this would essentially let the super-wealthy off the hook for the property tax on their multi-million dollar homes. Many, if not most people, who own McMansions are also older.

Allow city/county governments to pass tourism/local option tax. Rick dropped a word in proposing this one.  He should have said local option SALES tax.  People like this one, because they think they will be able to tax people from out of town.  Problem is you can’t really construct a sales tax like this so it doesn’t also hit local residents.  And the local residents it hits the hardest are the people who can least afford it.

Reduce the residential property tax rate across the board.  This is a good idea that has been done in the past to address rising property values.  The legislature declined to do it in the last session, and the result is a property tax crisis across the state.  Rick might want to ask the Republican legislators from Great Falls why they didn’t do this when they had a chance.

Eliminate the property tax exemption for large nonprofits that benefit from public safety services without contributing.  We also think this is a good idea, particularly since it would apply to churches.

Tryon’s Recommendations for City Government

Don’t renew TIF districts that are due to expire. Tax Increment Finance Districts are a mechanism originally intended to combat urban blight and stimulate economic development.  As properties in these districts are either constructed or improved, the taxes on the increased value assist with further development of needed infrastructure in those areas for the life of the district.  The City gets the tax money on the additional value; it’s just that the monies must be spent on the district until the time period for the district ends, usually after 15 years.  Once the district expires, all of the property taxes collected go to the general fund.  Only one of the current districts will expire in the next few years, and so the prospect of getting new funding from these districts is a long way off. Tryon should know that.

Fold the 7 mil by the 1993 agreement of library funding back into the general fund for other priorities.  This is nothing more than Tryon grinding his personal pet peeve.  He never liked the fact that the voters passed the Library Levy.  Now he sees a way to get at his political opponents through the back door.

Curtail general fund subsidies to non-performing City department enterprise funds, which would probably result in the elimination of some current city services/programs. Who could disagree with eliminating “non-performing” enterprise funds?  The whole idea is that enterprise funds should be self-sustaining.  The devil is in the details.  Tryon provides none.

While we appreciate Tryon’s effort to stimulate discussion, the truth is he leaves the biggest issue in Montana’s tax system completely off the table.  That is the consistent erosion of the income tax base by large corporations.

*Ken Toole served in the Montana Senate and was Vice Chair of the Tax Committee.  He also served on the Interim Transportation and Revenue Committee.  He was also the President of the Policy Institute, a Montana organization dedicated to fair taxation and reasonable energy policy

Randy, Randy, Randy. What Now??

Randy, Randy, Randy. What Now??

by | Jul 13, 2024 | Energy/Utilities

Public Service Commissioner Randy Pinocci has had a lien filed on his property by the Braden Tract Sewer Association and Braden Tract Water Fund for non-payment of bills in the amount of $1,720.  In addition, the districts are claiming Pinocci is responsible for moving a fence which is encroaching on its property at an estimated cost of $5,500.  

Perhaps the greatest irony in this chapter of the long, sad saga of Pinocci’s behavior in public office is that, as a Public Service Commissioner, Pinocci is responsible for regulating public utilities similar to these two small local utilities. One of the biggest problems these businesses face is deadbeats not paying their bills.  When that happens, other ratepayers pick up the tab. Pinocci either doesn’t understand that or he doesn’t care.  Probably a bit of both.

As the Public Service Commissioner representing PSC District #1, which includes Cascade County, Pinocci earns an annual salary of $111,179.  That does not include benefits like state retirement and health insurance.  His wife, Svetlana, works in the elections office.  She gets a good salary and county benefits.  In addition, Pinocci has real estate appraised at a total value of  $1,006,303.  You would think he can afford to pay his water and sewer bills. . . like the rest of us.  But Randy isn’t like the rest of us.

Pinocci seems to want to play politics more than do his job with the PSC.  In the last election, he ran for Lieutenant Governor drawing his big paycheck from you and me the whole time.  Then there is the fact that he was prosecuted for intimidating witnesses in a dispute over one of his rental properties last October.  https://wtf406.com/2023/10/more-republican-police-blotter-pinocci-arrested-again/

A few weeks before that, he was arrested on a warrant for failure to appear.  When he is not being arrested or prosecuted, he is galavanting around the state promoting bizarre conspiracy theories.

Thanks, in part, to an organized effort to get Democrats to “cross over” and vote in the Republican Primary here in Cascade County, voters got rid of some of the far right leaders in their party.  Legislators Steven Galloway and Lola Sheldon-Galloway lost.  County Commissioner Rae Grulkowski also was turned away by the voters (though the rumor mill is predicting she will be hired by Clerk and Recorder Sandra Merchant).  Both Pinocci and Merchant also lost their bids to be elected as Republican Party precinct people. Maybe there’s some hope for sanity in the local Republican Party.  

Pinocci’s term on the Public Service Commission ends in 2026.  Who knows what he will run for  next.  Whatever it is, we can only hope he is defeated.

 

 

Galloways Lose Property Tax Appeal

Galloways Lose Property Tax Appeal

by | Jul 9, 2024 | Taxes

In November of 2023, the Department of Revenue issued a paper warning legislators and others that Montana was facing dramatic increases in property taxes because of the increase in property values across the state. This was not the first time Montana had seen dramatic increases in property values.  In the past, the legislature had avoided people’s bills going up by adjusting the state property tax rate multiplier in the residential property tax formula. It has been a simple fix.  For more details follow this link https://dailymontanan.com/2023/07/26/big-corporations-get-tax-benefits-while-montana-resident-get-higher-property-taxes/

 As legislators, both Lola Sheldon-Galloway and Steven Galloway were perfectly happy to let property taxes in Montana increase dramatically.  But now it seems they were none too happy with the tax they were paying on their own property. Maybe it’s just that all of the public outcry following the last legislature got them thinking they might be able to play the same game large corporations, like Calumet, play in filing appeals then negotiating a “settlement” with the Department of Revenue behind closed doors.  (See this editorial about property tax appeals:

https://dailymontanan.com/2024/06/26/there-is-a-way-for-montana-residential-property-taxes-to-go-down/ )

In case you didn’t know it, Galloway Investments owns the Dairy Queen located at 1651 Fox Farm Road. In late November of last year, the Galloways appealed their property taxes. Specifically, they challenged the Montana Department of Revenue’s appraisal of the value of the land the building sits on.  After reviewing the appraised value at the request of the Galloways, the Department of Revenue stood by its valuation of the land value of $245,187, rejecting the Galloways’  estimate of the land being valued at $70,882. The Galloways then appealed the Department of Revenue’s valuation to the County Tax Appeals Board. The hearing on the Galloways’ appeal was held in early April. The County Tax Appeals Board denied the Galloways’ ’ appeal and left the valuation of the land at $245,187.  On April 13th, WTF406 filed a public information request with the county requesting information on the Galloways’ appeal.  The County Attorney’s office provided the information on June 13th. 

Despite the fact that the Galloways have owned the property for at least 15 years and the property taxes have slowly increased overtime like many of the rest of us, suddenly they decided they just weren’t going to take it anymore and filed an appeal.  And they proposed a dramatic reduction in the estimated value of the land, from $245,189 to $70,882, amounting to a reduction of more than 70 percent ($174,305). Wow!

Their justification in the appeal was that the land valuation is “Ridiculous.”  They also argue that the Fox Farm Road Dairy Queen should be similar in value to the Dairy Queen on 9th Avenue, which they also own.  According to their appeal, the value per square foot of the Fox Farm property is $17.87, while the 9th Avenue store  is taxed at $5.16 per square foot.  

The problem for the Galloways is that the Dairy Queen on 9th is not comparable. The Department of Revenue appraises land value of the 9th Street property at $116,250. The locations of the two properties are very different. Specifically, The Fox Farm location is just off 10th Avenue South and faces Fox Farm Rd, one of the busiest intersections in Great Falls. It is across the street from The Heritage Inn. The 9th Street Dairy Queen is tucked away in a mixed use neighborhood with far less traffic than the Fox  Farm Road property. Many commercial properties have value based largely on the amount of traffic that can easily access the business.  

After hearing the Galloways’ appeal, the local tax appeals board agreed with the Department of Revenue and denied their request for a tax break.  They had thirty days from receipt of the local Tax Appeals Board decision to file an appeal with the State Tax Appeals Board.  They apparently decided not to appeal.  

It is ironic that both Galloways sat in legislative seats while the property tax crisis was tumbling through the 2024 legislature and did nothing.  Lola Sheldon-Galloway sat on the House Taxation Committee for two sessions of the legislature, and Steven Galloway sat on the House Business and Labor Committee.  They both had an opportunity to address Montana’s increase in property taxes.  They chose to ignore it.

Faccenda Takes Offense

Faccenda Takes Offense

by | Jul 2, 2024 | E-City Beat Watch

E-City Beat✔ Whining Again

I don’t read E-City Beat✓ much.  But it has come to my attention that Phil Faccenda, one of the writers for that blog, took offense to a recent post I wrote about some guy with a huge “Fuck Biden and Fuck you for voting for him” banner on the front of his pickup at a crowded public campground on the Missouri River.  https://wtf406.com/2024/06/nice-afternoon-with-my-grandson/

At first I thought that Phil’s problem would be the fact that we had posted a photo of the offensive banner with the word “fuck” on it.  A reasonable assumption given E-City Beat✓’s consistent support for censorship at the library. But it turned out that wasn’t the problem at all.  Phil said he thought the posting was hypocritical, because our blog had used the word “fuck” in some of our postings. 

So, apparently, in Phil’s mind, placing a large banner saying “Fuck Joe Biden and Fuck you for voting for him” in a public campground with lots of people around (including little kids) who have no choice but to look at it, is somehow the same as using the word “fuck” in an on-line blog which readers have to seek out and is privately owned.  Seems like quite a stretch to me but, as I read the whole posting he wrote, it became apparent that his real problem is Jasmine Taylor and Helena Lovick. They are two young women who also write for our blog and have a long history of challenging Phil Facecnda and Rick Tryon, the editors of E-City Beat✓.

To bolster the circular logic of his argument, Phil provided a list of posts written by Jasmine and Helena.  He obviously spent a lot of time going through our blog.  Fine with us.  It just gives us more exposure.  

But the whole episode leaves me wondering. Does Phil have no objection at all to this kind of public display?  What if a bunch of Trumpers decided to park their banners at Gibson Park or The City Water Park?  How about in the 4th of July Parade?  In his effort to take a shot at the WTF406 Blog, he left common sense and logic far behind.