Incline Village tax revolters' initial refunds will be $80,000

Washoe County attorneys this week pored over the decision coming down from the state Supreme Court in favor of Incline's tax revolters. The question as to how much would be refunded to the 17 property owners named in the June hearing now has a preliminary answer.

County finance director John Sherman this week estimated the initial refunds would total $80,000, including interest.

What may be of more value to the residents of Incline and the rest of the county is the penciled-in percentage that each government entity would give back. It is:

• State of Nevada: 5.2 percent

• Washoe County: 42 percent

• Washoe County School District: 34.6 percent

• IVGID: 2.3 percent

• NLTFPD: 15.9 percent

County officials were unable to comment on whether this formula would be applied to all property owners should a wholesale rollback occur.

The $80,000 figure breaks down to a $4,700 refund on average, county officials said.

"We'll have to have the attorneys look at the number," said League to Save Incline Assets President Maryanne Ingemanson. "We have no control over how they used the overpaid taxes.

"I haven't seen any of this yet, I doubt they'll send me a Fed Ex delivery. I'm delighted they're moving forward and making positive effort to solve this situation."

This first round of refunds would be the result of the district court decision by Judge William Maddox that the 17 property owners named in the suit were not assessed properly.

The rebates resulting will be the difference between taxes paid by those individuals on the 2003-'04 property values minus the taxes paid on their 2002-'03 values.

"We had a big meeting yesterday with the assessor's office, treasurer's office and the district attorney, figuring out how to implement the ruling," said Washoe County spokeswoman Kathy Carter. "It's very complex, we're still working on a timeline (for when the refund will occur)."

Tax revolters meanwhile said they're meeting "around the clock" with attorneys to implement wholesale reparation.

The county will release next week a Q&A document about the supreme court decision and next steps for residents.