County Administration

Assessor

Dustin Barron

Bonneville County Assessor

Mailing Address:

605 N Capital Ave. Location Address: 547 N Capital Ave. Idaho Falls, ID 83402

Phone:

(208) 529-1320 Fax: (208) 528-5509

Office Hours:

Weekdays 8 am to 5 pm (Excluding Holidays)

Duties of County Assessor

The County Assessor is elected by the voters for a term of four years.

The County Assessor’s duties are governed by Idaho Code Title 63. The Office of the County Assessors principal function is to place value on all properties, Real and Personal in Bonneville County, which represents typical sale and/or purchase prices of similar properties. This procedure is known as placing market value on property. All property is assessed as of January 1st each year using sales on property occurring between January 1st and December 31st of the previous year. If too few or no sales are available, the assessor can use sales from other time periods, or from similar areas.

The assessor’s office defends values or appraisals using current sales information of comparable properties and making adjustments for dissimilar characteristics between the subject and sales. This process demonstrates that the subject property is valued according to market sales.

The Assessor’s office strives to place fair market value on property and has no authority to adjust the spending level of schools and local government.

The Office of the County Assessor also is required to maintain descriptions of building and property characteristics and track individuals and eligibility for all forms of property tax relief. The Assessor’s Platting/Mapping Department maintains records of the ownership of property, maps of parcel boundaries, and to plat parcels.

The County Assessor is also responsible for the motor vehicle department, which reviews and processes titles, registration and issues license plates for all motor vehicles as an agent of the State Department of Transportation. For additional information please contact the department.

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When to contact the assessor's office

Anyone who has questions about their assessment or the appeals process should contact the assessor’s office to review their appraisal as soon as they receive the assessment notice. It is important that they don’t wait until they receive their tax bills to review their assessment. Idaho law requires that appointments for protests be made on or before the fourth Monday in June.

Preparation

To achieve a meaningful and productive appeal, the property owner should supply evidence that establishes error in the appraisal of the property. It is important to employ comparables from the same location as the subject and to consider age, type and condition. Sales occurring this year will be considered for next year’s assessment. It is essential to understand the definition of typical when supplying information to the assessor.

When several comparable properties sell, the assessor applies the average or typical values gathered from such data in determining the assessment instead of picking the highest or lowest values. Often, people enter the assessor’s office wanting to protest property taxes rather than appeal their property appraisal. There are methods available to protest taxes. Property taxes are created by spending incurred by schools, local government and other taxing districts.

Concerned taxpayers should protest spending by attending the annual budget hearings of each taxing district affecting their pocketbook. Budget hearings are open to the public and offer invitation to anyone with comments. Make personal contact with elected officials who authorize and control spending (i.e. school board members, mayor, city councilmen, county commissioners). Voicing concern with elected officials will influence spending and the efficiency of the departments they direct.