Why are we Paying Clerk and Recorder Sandra Merchant $70,000 per Year?
After winning the election for Cascade County Clerk and Recorder by just 31 votes, Sandra Merchant doesn’t have as much to do as her predecessor, Rina Moore. But, she receives the same salary Moore did (around $70,000). We should be paying her less.
First, there is the matter of the surveyor duties of the office. The full title of the office is County Clerk and Recorder/Auditor/Surveyor. Rina Moore is a licensed surveyor and, therefore, performed the surveyor duties of the office. Sandra Merchant is not a licensed surveyor. So likely the County will have to pay a licensed surveyor to perform those duties. We don’t know what that cost is yet. But what we do know is that Merchant is receiving the same salary as Rina Moore but cannot perform the same duties.
Then there is the matter of the auditing duties which Moore was performing. Without getting too complicated, Moore basically oversaw the accounting functions of the County. At a January 10th meeting, the County Commissioners voted to take the auditing functions out of the Clerk and Recorder’s Office and place them in a new County FInancial Office. Merchant will have no role in overseeing the accounting of the county like Moore did.
Finally, there has been discussion among the County Commissioners of moving the elections function out of the Clerk and Recorder’s Office. According to the Great Falls Electric, on November 14th, Commissioner Joe Briggs said that he plans to propose an ordinance to move county elections from the Clerk and Recorder’s Office to the County Commission. Probably a good move since Merchant appears to be an election denier who likely thinks all ballots should be voted with a quill pen, counted by hand, and tallied with an abacus.
Bottom line, Sandra Merchant is doing a much less complex and difficult job than what was done by Rina Moore . . .but the pay remains the same. The County Commission should review how the duties of the Clerk and Recorder have changed and adjust the pay accordingly.
Our regular readers are already familiar with the building Jeremy Trebas bought at 1300 1st Ave. N. The building is currently classified as a church by the Department of Revenue which makes it exempt from most property taxes. As we pointed out in our earlier article, it is owned by a shell company Trebas created which clearly does not qualify as a church for property tax exemptions, despite the fact that Trebas is currently renting the space to a church group. (https://wtf406.com/2023/01/the-curious-case-of-jeremy-trebas-property-taxes/)
Let’s start with the building
There is now more to this story– much more. So, let’s start with the building itself. In 1927 the local congregation of First Church of Christ Scientists announced its intention to build a church at 1300 1st Avenue N. with an auditorium for 450 people for an estimated cost of $40,000! Two and a half years later, the “renaissance” style building was completed and began holding services with a large pipe organ, reading rooms, and Sunday school classrooms. (Looks more like Art Deco style to us, but we’ll go with the Great Falls Tribune.)
Fast forward to almost a century later. The building was sold to Karpeles Manuscript Library Museums.This national organization was founded in 1983 by California real estate magnatesDavid and Marsha Karpeles. David Karpeles’ passion was collecting old manuscripts. With the goal of stimulating interest in learning, especially in children,and to make the collection more accessible, they began acquiring historic buildings and distributing historic documents to those local museums. There are currently 12 such local museums in small to mid-sized cities across the country.
The Karpeles organization was clearly moving forward with plans to open the museum in Great Falls, including hiring local staff and having the museum name added in raised lettering to the stucco finish. But, they abandoned the project and put the building on the market. There were probably numerous reasons for the decision not to proceed with the Great Falls museum. These include the fact that the benefactor, David Karpeles died in January of 2022, the disruption of the pandemic, and potential costs of bringing the historic building ”up to code.” In May of 2022, Jeremy Trebas purchased the building. That’s where this story gets interesting.
But first a bit about building codes
Building codes are about making sure that buildings are safe, accessible and meet community standards and needs. It is common that historic buildings fall behind the various changes in building codes. Owners of these buildings are often not required to update the building, because they have been “grandfathered in.” But, when a building like this changes its purpose, it is common that the new owners are required to bring the building into compliance with the current code.
In this instance, when the Karpeles group purchased the building, it was aware that it would no longer be classified as a religious institution and repairs were going to be required. Specifically, there were some handicapped access issues and importantly the code required an automatic sprinkler system. Automatic sprinkler systems are expensive, because they require a separate line to the water main and monitoring systems to alert occupants if there is a loss of pressure or other malfunction in the water lines.
So, to summarize, the building was put on the market with any prospective buyer understanding the need for costly repairs to meet code requirements, particularly fire safety. The need for costly repairs lowers the value of the building. Enter Senator Jeremy Trebas.
Senate Bill 195 introduced by Jeremy Trebas.
Why would anyone buy a large commercial building with high property taxes because of its size and which needs significant investment to bring it up to code? Well, we already pointed out that the property tax classification of the building has not changed from a church so, thus far, Trebas has not paid much in property tax. Moreover, he rented to a church which could very well be a lame attempt to hang onto subsidized property taxes or, as we have said, it could be that Trebas has simply not gotten around to notifying the Department of Revenue of the change in building use.
But then Trebas introduced Senate Bill 195. This bill exempts his building, and others like it, from the requirement for automatic sprinkler systems. It defines exempt properties as an existing structure that is not over 12,000 total square feet, has an occupancy that is limited to less than 300, and has fewer than three stories above grade. In addition, a community group working on homeless issues in Billings proposed an amendment to help homeless people which has been attached to Trebas’ bill. Despite being opposed by firefighters and fire marshals, the bill has passed out of committee in the Senate.
Bottom line, Trebas is using his seat in the Senate to enrich himself. This whole episode speaks volumes about Trebas’ ethics in government and in business. We wonder if he has thought at all about the previous owners who obviously had to accept a lower price because of needed repairs. Or has he thought of the other parties who were interested in buying the building but didn’t have the title Senator in their hip pocket. Probably not. It seems Jeremy Trebas is only concerned with Jeremy Trebas.
In a press release straight out of the Capitol City, the three ring circus known as the Montana Freedom Caucus announced that Great Falls representative, Steven Galloway, has joined their fourteen member cast of clowns. In the press release issued by the circus, Clown Queen Theresa Manzella, Republican Senator from the Bitterroot Valley, regurgitated the punchlines of many on the far right, “We stand for states’ rights and work to rein in federal overreach. Montana citizens have made it clear that this is their desire.” So much for originality.
Our readers may remember when Manzella brought her roadshow to Great Falls at the invitation of the local Pachyderm Club. Her act that time around was joining the jokers on the far right poking fun at local elections by trying to fool people into thinking that elections in Montana are corrupt. (Check out our story https://wtf406.com/2022/09/the-big-lie-in-cascade-county/ )
The Montana Freedom Caucus is a wholly owned subsidiary of the national circus franchise, the Congressional Freedom Caucus in Washington DC. Montana Representative Matt Rosendale is an active clown in the national group, having developed a character who dresses like a Montana cowboy, but speaks with a thick Maryland accent. Most recently the national group dominated the media by catching Representative Kevin McCarthy, demanding he obey them and repeatedly hitting him with pies in the face until he agreed to their demands. As part of their routine, Rosendale took to the House floor and delivered an unintelligible speech criticizing . . .well it was hard to tell what he was criticizing. The media covered his speech with the headline, “Rosendale rages against a non-problem in viral speech, say political analysts” (https://billingsgazette.com/news/rosendale-rages-against-a-non-problem-in-viral-speech-say-political-analysts/article_4bec7336-8e32-11ed-8b60-67f4e4525fdc.html )
Rosendale is clearly trying to get his pies in order to throw them in the face of Senator Jon Tester in the 2024 election. But first he’ll have to beat fellow clown Ryan Zinke who has his own routine imitating a Montana cowboy. In the Montana circus press release, Rosendale said, “I’m proud to work with veteran and newly-elected lawmakers to ensure every Montanan has a voice in our representative government.” What he didn’t say, but we all know it’s what he means is, “These are the clowns that are going to help me beat Zinke”
It is not clear what role Steve Galloway will play in this troop of clowns. It is clear he is not likely to emerge as a leader. His wife Lola, who is also in the legislature, is far more likely to end up in a leadership role. She has already developed a comic character with flashy hats pushing a baby carriage with a doll in it.
Time will tell. The group plans to have a show in Helena in January. Grab your popcorn and get a seat. It’s bound to be entertaining!
Most of us who have property pay our property taxes. We don’t like it much. We grouse and groan and twice a year we write a check to the county treasurer. That money pays for our schools, police, fire control, the courts, parks and recreation. . .basically all of the things that make Great Falls a nice place to live.
Churches are exempt from property tax. That is where we stumbled on the curious case of Great Falls Senator Jeremy Trebas and the property at 1300 1st Avenue North. The building is the home of Break Forth Bible Church. But it is owned by a limited liability company, Rearview Mirror LLC. The registered agent for Rearview Mirror LLC is Jeremy Trebas.
According to the MT Department of Revenue, the property at 1300 1st Ave N is classified as a religious institution. So, despite its appraised value of almost $360,000, it is not obligated to pay the amount of property tax most of us pay. The only Break Forth Bible Church registered with the Secretary of State’s office has its principal office in Glendive. It is registered as a non-profit corporation which is the usual practice for churches. BFBC is one church with six locations: Great Falls, Miles City, Glendive, Dickinson, Williston & Minot.
Most people know churches are exempt from taxation (and more than a few of us don’t like that much) but the law is the law. The thing is, it really has to be owned by a church to get the exemption. Montana law (15-6-201 MCA) states that in order for property to be exempt from property tax obligations it has to be, “buildings and furnishings in the buildings that are owned by a church and used for actual religious worship. . .” That means it can’t be used for any other purpose. On May 6th of last year Trebas posted on facebook that he had purchased the building to house his accounting office and that space was also available for meetings. Bottom line, the building is not eligible for the religious property tax exemption.
Turns out Trebas paid property tax of only $267 for the first half of 2022 and owes the same amount for the second half of the year which was due in November. He has failed to notify the Department of Revenue that the property is no longer qualified for the religious exemption. (Don’t worry folks, we have let them know). Just to put this in perspective for our readers, a smaller residential property which appraised for considerably less across the street paid $3,636.08 in property tax last year.
There are two ways to look at this situation. It is possible that Trebas simply didn’t know about the tax status of the building and the bureaucracy has been slow to catch up. Or it is possible Trebas knows very well what he is doing and is simply taking advantage of the situation to cut his tax bill—significantly.
We believe it is the latter for a few reasons. First, Trebas is a CPA and is much more knowledgeable about the ins and outs of tax law than the average citizen. Second, Trebas’ current tennant, the Break Forth Bible Church, which we assume is paying rent to Trebas’ holding company, (Rear View Mirror LLC) is a church. If it owned the building, it would be eligible for the exemption. And certainly having the sign for the church on the front of the building would make most people, including Dept of Revenue employees, assume that the tax exempt status is appropriate. Finally, when Trebas paid the tax bill on the building he had to know that the amount on the bill was extremely low. His own residence, which appraises for far less than the building at 1300 1st Avenue N at $160,000, has an annual tax bill of $1,819.22, over triple the amount of the much larger and much more valuable property he has in his holding company, Rear View Mirror LLC.
This could be a case of bumbling incompetence or a slick trick to avoid paying the property taxes he is obligated to pay. You decide.
It seems some people are confused about which political party best represents their views. So we put together this list of things to help you decide (with apologies to Jeff Foxworthy)
If you think it’s a good thing that our Governor, Congressmen and one US Senator are all rich men from out of state—- You might be a Republican.
If you think women and health care providers who help them get abortions belong in jail—- You might be a Republican.
If you think local property taxes should increase while income taxes on big corporations and rich people are reduced—-You might be a Republican.
If you think climate change is a hoax while we are seeing annual increases in freezing temperatures and record setting drought—-You might be a Republican.
If you think we should spend more money on putting people in jail cells than we spend on educating our children—-You might be a Republican.
If you are happy having delusional conspiracy theorists representing you on the Public Service Commission and in the Cascade County Sheriff’s office—-You might be a Republican.
If you think higher power bills with a guaranteed profit for utility corporations is good for our economy—-You might be a Republican.
If you think nursing homes and hospitals in rural communities aren’t important to the communities they serve—-You might be a Republican.
If you think family farms should be replaced by big agricultural conglomerates—-You might be a Republican.
If you think teachers are paid too much and class size doesn’t matter—-You might be a Republican.
If you think public access to Montana’s great outdoors should be reserved for wealthy landowners and their friends—-You might be a Republican.
If you think wearing masks and getting vaccines don’t help control the spread of Covid and other respiratory diseases—-You might be a Republican.
If you think America should refuse to honor treaty rights of Native Americans because they “lost the war”—-You might be a Republican.
If you think that college should be more expensive and put young people on the hook for mountains of debt owed to private lenders at high interest rates—-You might be a Republican.
If you think businesses are attracted to communities with crappy schools and crumbling infrastructure—–You might be a Republican.
If you think elections are being stolen using electronic voting machines—-You might be a Republican.
If you think you are a “self made person” who got ahead without using government services we all pay for like education, the courts, and roads and bridges—-You might be a Republican.
If you think Donald Trump is an honest, patriotic businessman— We don’t know what the hell you are—other than greatly confused.
