Council denies tax‑exemption application for remodeled West Lakeshore home after Department of Revenue cannot verify statutory increase

The Whitefish City Council voted to deny an application for a tax exemption and temporary tax‑rate reduction for improvements at 1550 West Lakeshore Drive after staff reported the Montana Department of Revenue could not make the statutory finding that the property’s taxable value would increase by at least 2.5% for the purposes of the program.

City staff explained the statute allows property tax benefits during construction and for up to four years following completion if the Department of Revenue can determine a qualifying increase in additional taxable value. For this application, DOR staff flagged uncertainty because recent changes to homestead and tax‑rate rules and the approaching 2027 reappraisal made it impossible to definitively determine the required 2.5% increase. Based on that uncertainty, staff recommended denial and the council adopted resolution 26‑12 to deny the application.

The council took the action after a brief public hearing and emphasized that the denial was procedural—based on the statutory finding DOR could not make—rather than a substantive determination about the renovation's merits.

The action is specific to the local tax consequences of the application; staff said the program's parameters and the Department of Revenue’s required determinations govern the availability of this benefit.