House candidate keeps busy in the interim

By RICHARD HANNERS / Whitefish Pilot

Rep. Mike Jopek, D-White-fish, has been keeping busy on legislative issues ever since the last session ended in 2007. And he has good news for locals on two fronts — how the school trust lands surrounding Whitefish will be developed, and how high property taxes might go after the new re-appraisal cycle kicks in.

A Whitefish farmer, Jopek is running for his third term in the Montana House. He was re-elected last time by a two-thirds vote. His opponent, John Fuller, R-Whitefish, is a high school teacher.

After graduating from the University of New Hampshire with an engineering degree, and a focus on solar power, Jopek traveled out West. He discovered the Flathead, fell in love with farming and has been in the Whitefish area since 1988.

A past chairman on the Whitefish Housing Authority board and the Whitefish City-County Planning Board, Jopek is currently on the board for the city's new affordable-housing land-trust program.

"We've placed 16 families in homes in the Whitefish area," he said.

Jopek is also a member of Gateway Partners, the group that assisted in creating and propelling the agreement between the city and state over development in school trust lands surrounding Whitefish. That includes the A Trail Runs Through It project — a biking and hiking trail that will one day circle Whitefish Lake. But state law has been unclear about how conservation easements could be established.

"We've been waiting on this for six years," he said.

A House Joint Resolution introduced by Jopek in 2007 created an interim study committee to look at how conservation easements could be used on state school trust lands. Earlier this summer, the state Environmental Quality Council issued a report that apparently settles that issue.

"Expect to see trail projects starting up soon, and expect to see the state sell development rights on these school trust lands by the end of the year," Jopek said. "Buyers are in the wings."

Jopek is also involved in an interim committee looking at impacts from the constitutionally-mandated six-year property tax re-appraisal cycle.

"I was convinced Democrats and Republicans could get this done in the interim before they met next year," he said.

The bi-partisan effort has produced good news for property owners concerned about rising taxes — particularly around Whitefish, where property values have soared in the past six years. Strategies could include adjusting the homestead exemption, setting caps and using "circuit breakers" to protect seniors and renters.

"We've moved the benchmark appraisal from January 2008 to July 2008, after the market softened up a bit," he said. "Both parties want to do what's right for homeowners."

Jopek said the committee is waiting for the final numbers from the state Department of Revenue so they can finalize their report before the end of the year. He said renters, who typically don't benefit from property tax reform, could see a deduction in their state income taxes.

"All told, this could be the biggest mitigation effort in the next legislature," he said.

Legislators next session will be looking at a projected $450 million surplus, Jopek said, mostly a result of higher oil and gas revenue. Property taxes account for a small part of the surplus, he said.

The biggest issue next session will be the economy, Jopek predicts. Montana's economy has posted positive figures for several years now, with the third-highest wage-growth in the nation, but national events could impact the state.

Jopek favors raising the exemption for the small-business equipment tax from $25,000 to $250,000, but not completely eliminating it, as Republicans call for. He said his figure will help small businesses, such as a building contractor, but not large out-of-state corporations. Revenue from the small-business equipment tax goes to education and local government, he pointed out.

The state's schools have seen $500 million in "new money" since 2005, he said, and now he wants some accountability on how it's spent.

"That's not chump change," he said.

He also wants the state to begin planning for the "graying" of the state. As the state's population ages, this will impact schools and government services. Some of the surplus should go into an "elderly trust fund."

Jopek said he will support putting $13 million of the surplus in the CHIP health insurance program to benefit lower income families. He also wants some money stashed away in a "rainy day" fund for emergencies.