County defies state, cuts school levy

The Jefferson County Commission on Oct. 3 voted to lower a state-imposed school property tax, effectively joining in a growing grass-roots revolt against the Gianforte administration.

“This has become a big flash point for a lot of misinformation on how it’s supposed to affect the schools,” said Chair Cory Kirsch before the Commission voted unanimously to amend the county’s mill levy resolution to lower the equalization rate. But “the way I read the law, this is actually lawful and will benefit the taxpayers of Jefferson County and will not hurt the school districts.”

The state’s school equalization funding levy has been a contentious issue since June, when the state Department of Revenue sent property owners across the state notices that reflected dramatically higher assessments — and implied the prospect of correspondingly higher taxes.