[Vision2020] Troubled Women

[DonaldH675 at aol.com]

Visionaries: 
Twice a year many of us receive property tax  assessment from Latah County.  
We may not be happy about it - what bill is  ever welcome - but the great 
majority of us pay up.   A remedy is provided for those who  believe their 
assessment is incorrect:   the assessment can be appealed.  The  Latah County 
Commissioners, sitting as the Board of Equalization   (BOE) , reviews complaints and 
can either adjust the  taxed amount or uphold it.  If one  is unhappy with the 
BOE decision, that decision can be appealed to the Idaho Board of Tax Appeals 
(IBTA).  If the IBTA opinion is not  favorable,  the matter can be heard in 
district court.   
Idaho Code 63-602(3) requires annual  approval of all property tax  
exemptions (_http://www3.state.id.us/cgi-bin/newidst?sctid=630060002.K_ 
(http://www3.state.id.us/cgi-bin/newidst?sctid=630060002.K) ).  Latah County is among several 
 counties in Idaho that have ignored this statute.  One of the consequence  
of not conducting annual evaluations is the potential for substantial loss of 
property tax revenue to the  county.  This places an increased property tax 
burden on those of us  who do meet our financial obligations.  In effect, we 
shoulder the load for  exempt organizations.  Most of us are willing to do that, 
provided the  exemption is within the legal boundaries described in Idaho Code 
Title 63 , Chapter 6 (_http://www3.state.id.us/idstat/TOC/63006KTOC.html_ 
(http://www3.state.id.us/idstat/TOC/63006KTOC.html) ).   
In 2004 Saundra Lund and I, as  interveners,  filed  property tax exemption 
appeals based on two  properties owned and/or operated by Christ Church.  Last 
July, the  BOE  revoked  property tax exemption from a church-owned office 
building (Anselm  House and  from one parcel of the two parcel site  of New St. 
Andrews (NSA), a private  college.  The elders and pastor of Christ Church 
chose  to appeal the BOE decisions revoking  property tax exemption for Anselm 
House and one NSA parcel to  the IBTA.  Saundra Lund and I chose to appeal the 
split BOE decision upholding property tax  exemption for the other NSA parcel.  
In March, two members of  the IBTA recused themselves from the case which,  in 
effect,  upheld the BOE decision.  Christ Church counsel Greg Dickison filed 
with the IBTA for a reconsideration  of the decisions.  His request  was 
denied last week.  It is unclear  if Christ Church will challenge the BOE finding 
in district court.  Ongoing  litigation prevents Latah County from collecting 
the property tax due for Anselm House  or NSA.  It is possible to imagine that 
if the district court  upholds the BOE decisions, further appeals  will be 
made in higher courts by Christ Church and NSA.  It may be years  before a penny 
of properly assessed property tax is collected from either  entity. 
Last week Saundra Lund and I filed additional  property tax exemption appeals 
pertaining  to two other entities in Moscow:  Logos School and Community 
Christian Ministries  (CCM).   We are asking the  BOE to determine if these 
entities operate within the  intended scope of Idaho Code 62-603B and 62- 603E  
<_http://www3.state.id.us/idstat/TOC/63006KTOC.html_ 
(http://www3.state.id.us/idstat/TOC/63006KTOC.html) ).  The  particulars of our complaints are available to 
all interested at the County  Commissioners office in the Latah County 
Courthouse. 
Doug Wilson's recent entry on his blog site "Blog  and Mablog" 
_http://dougwils.com/_ (http://dougwils.com/)  "The  Thicken Plots" dated yesterday bitterly 
bemoans that his  organizations are the subject of our scrutiny.   Doug  
emphasizes two "facts":
1.       Logos  School and the Nuart are not behaving badly or nefariously, 
they are just doing  what "virtually every non-profit entity in out town  does."
2.      He is the real "target" of these  property tax exemptions.  
Since we were originators of the complaints  we are well acquainted with the 
content.  No allegations of "bad" or  "nefarious" behavior were made.  
Although Doug may well be the center of  his universe, he certainly is not the center 
of ours.  It is unbridled  grandiosity, in my opinion, to assume that just 
because he is the founder  and pastor of Christ Church; a founder and lifetime 
member board  member, permanent board member of the Board of Trustee's 
Executive  Council , and Senior  Fellow of New St. Andrews; Founder and  life-time 
member of the Board of Trustees  of Logos School; Editor of Credenda Agenda; 
instructor at the Christ Church  seminary Greyfriars Hall; the most published  
author in the Canon Press  stable (Christ Church's very profitable publishing 
operation); founder  and ex-officio member of Association of Classical Christian 
Schools,  (an organization headquartered in Anselm House, Moscow, Idaho which  
"accredits" classical Christian Schools);  a Director of Community  Christian 
Ministries; and President of Mistra, Inc., reportedly a 501(c)(3) which is 
newly registered with the  Idaho Secretary of State  
(_http://www.accessidaho.org/public/sos/corp/search.html?ScriptForm.startstep=viewentity&ScriptForm.startS
criptForm.start.ScriptStepView.viewentityFILEvalue=C159407_ 
(http://www.accessidaho.org/public/sos/corp/search.html?ScriptForm.startstep=viewentity&ScriptFo
rm.startScriptForm.start.ScriptStepView.viewentityFILEvalue=C159407) ) that 
he  has been singled out for special attention.   
By the way, in the organizations listed above, if Doug is not the titular  
head, one can be sure that a Christ Church elder is.  This way  of business 
management has been eloquently described by Doug  himself many times, "He who 
takes the  King's coin, becomes the King's man."  King Wilson's finger and toes  
are in so many "non-profit" pots, it is hard to avoid appearing  to "target" 
him.  However, it matters not one whit how many boards Doug  graces with his 
presence as long as the board and organization are operating  within the letter 
and meaning of the law.  If they aren't, they merit the  public scrutiny.  
Perhaps in the near future, the BOE will  routinely require factual financial 
documents from non-profit organizations  in Latah County - a suggestion that 
Saundra  and I happily support.  In the meantime, we have asked the BOE to  
obtain, through the discovery process, appropriate financial documents from  CCM 
and Logos to ensure that BOE members are able to make a fully informed  
judgement on their  property tax  exemptions.  Doug is correct in calling us 
"troubled women" - we are deeply  troubled by the current Latah County protocols in 
granting property tax  exemptions.  We are also hopeful that at some point the 
citizens of  Moscow will receive a meaningful explanation from the pastor and 
leaders of  Christ Church why it is that inconvenient laws, ranging from 
zoning codes to  property taxes, don't apply to them.  It remains a mystery to us 
why  they shriek like insatiable babies if anyone suggests they  should be 
weaned from the government breast, they claim to  despise.      
Rose Huskey and Saundra Lund

 
"One cannot  level one's moral lance at every evil in the universe. There are 
just too many  of them. But you can do something, and the difference between 
doing something  and doing nothing is everything." Daniel Berrigan


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