Sheri Davies recall, Bannock County, Idaho (2019)

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Bannock County Assessor recall
Officeholders
Sheri Davies
Recall status
Did not go to a vote
See also
Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2019 Recalls in Idaho Idaho recall laws County official recalls Recall reports

An effort to recall Sheri Davies from her position as Bannock County assessor in Idaho did not go to a vote in 2019. Recall supporters failed to gather the 9,101 signatures needed to get the recall on the ballot in March 2020. After initiating the effort in July 2019, supporters had until October 2, 2019, to submit the signatures to the Bannock County Clerk's Office.

Davies was targeted for recall following a 20% increase in property assessments on average, according to ABC Local News 8. A recall effort against all three Bannock County Commissioners was also started in July 2019.

The recall petition included the following reasons for recall: assessments not getting out on time, miscommunication about deadlines for the appeals process, and a lack of communication about significant changes in value, according to KPVI. Davies said the increase in property assessments was a market correction because the county was not up to state compliance on home market values and had not been for years. Click here for the background to this recall effort.

Recall supporters

The recall effort was started by Claudia Ortega, who said her own home assessment increased by $103,000, which she said was an unreasonable increase. "We came here from California, and I can tell you even in California that doesn't happen," Ortega said.

Ortega formed a group, the Pocatello-Bannock Home Owner's Alliance, to lead the recall effort. Ortega said, "As citizens and residents of this town and this county, we are entitled to nothing less than honest, transparent, responsible government. And I don't really think that's too much to ask."

The recall petition included the following reasons for recall: assessments not getting out on time, miscommunication about deadlines for the appeals process, and a lack of communication about significant changes in value, according to KPVI.

“It’s not a matter of if, but when,” Ortega said. “Our vote is the most powerful voice we have. We will start with Sheri Davies and hopefully that will let the rest of the county leadership know they are being put on notice. I can start a recall petition for anyone again, again and again, and I will definitely have support because this money grab is going to destroy our actual property values.”

Recall opponents

Davies said the increase in property assessments was a market correction. She said the county was not up to state compliance on home market values and had not been for years. "I've been told that values in Bannock County have not been addressed for decades," Davies said.

“You are required to bring your values into compliance so that the state, the state has authority to step in and do it themselves, and if we would not have, we were far enough out of compliance that they would have stepped in and regulated our values,” Davies said. She said if the state had stepped in, county residents would not have been able to appeal for three years.

Davies also said the higher assessments would help lower the county's levy, which was the highest in the state. "We figured that same cost of running our government, against a higher amount, that, by law, that forces that levy down," she said. "And so, guaranteed, as these go up ... that levy will go down," Davies said. In September 2019, county records showed that mill levy rates dropped in 28 of the county's 32 taxing districts.

In reaction to the recall effort, Davies said she intended to serve the remainder of her four-year term with honor and integrity. “Our laws are written to protect us as property owners and as voters,” Davies said. “Whoever is trying to recall me, that is their right by law. That is okay. I knew that if I were to win the election that my job would be difficult, but I cannot change course. I made only a couple of promises as I campaigned and I will keep those promises. But if I am recalled, I have to be able to step down knowing that I did my best.”

Background

Davies was sworn into office as the county assessor in January 2019. She said the increase in property assessments was a market correction that was needed because the county was not up to state compliance on home market values and had not been for years. A January 2019 ratio study showed that Bannock County "had to make up ground on its assessments due to rapid recent growth in property values in the county," according to the Idaho State Journal.

George Brown, a property tax administrator with the Idaho State Tax Commission, discounted Davies' claims that the county was out of compliance with the state. Brown said the ratio study's results did not mean the county was out of compliance. Instead, the study aimed to provide guidance to counties on how to remain compliant with the state, according to the Idaho State Journal. In August 2019, the Tax Commission said that the county was in compliance as of the 2019 reassessments.

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.

Path to the ballot

See also: Laws governing recall in Idaho

To get the recall on the ballot, recall supporters had to file an initial petition with 20 signatures. That petition was notarized by the Bannock County Clerk's Office and approved for circulation. Idaho law gives recall supporters 75 days to circulate petitions. Recall supporters failed to gather the needed 9,101 signatures (20% of voters registered in the county for the November 2018 election) by October 2, 2019. If it had been successful, the recall election would have been held in March 2020.

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.

See also

• Bannock County, Idaho
• Bannock County Commissioners recall, Idaho (2019)
• Recall campaigns in Idaho
• Political recall efforts, 2019
• County official recalls

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• Bannock County Assessor
• Bannock County Elections Office
• Pocatello/Bannock County Homeowners' Alliance Facebook page