Trego's Mountain Ear

Tag: County 57

• Community

  Taxation in Lincoln County

  The proposed library district has me looking at taxation again.  One of the great things about Lincoln County is that, with three high school districts, it’s easy to figure out which communities provide the funds that keep our county going.

  	Market Value	Taxable Value	Percentage
  Libby	$1,687,186,708	$21,911,499	36.42%
  Troy	$831,354,553	$10,966,329	18.23%
  Eureka	$1,974,407,031	$27,280,980	45.35%
  County Total	$4,492,948,292	$60,158,808

  The Census offers these population estimates from the American Community Survey (the ACS is not my preferred source, but we are 4 years past the census)

  Zip Code	Population	City
  59923	9,545	Libby
  59917	5,001	Eureka
  59935	3,505	Troy
  59934	763	Trego
  59930	697	Rexford
  59918	625	Fortine
  59933	21	Stryker

  Since Eureka, Trego, Rexford, Fortine, and Stryker are all in High School District 13, the relative populations are:

  Libby 9545 (47%)             Troy   3,505 (17%)             LCHS 7,107  (35%)           

  Seeing that North County provides 45.35% of the county’s tax revenues, the first thought that comes to mind is that secession from Lincoln County would be a better option than voting for a county-wide library district.  County 57, with 45.35% of Lincoln County’s tax base, could afford to be a little less efficient and still provide better service.

  A library that served just the LCHS high school district, looking at the tax base (45%) and population (35%), could provide north county residents with a heck of a lot better service than the pittance historically provided to Eureka does.

  I like libraries – as an academic, I’ve spent a lot of time in them on one lit review or another.  Still, I don’t get much return on a library in Libby – and in the proposal for a countywide district, we’d cover nearly half the cost and probably get a sixth of the service.

  I want a library – but I’m tired of being taxed to provide jobs and services for Libby.  If I get an opportunity to vote for a better library, closer . . . well, perhaps the first stage of secession is a special library district that isn’t countywide.

  April 2, 2024
• Community

  Beginning the Mathematics of Secession

  It takes no complex research to learn which part of the county pays the most taxes.  The total market value and taxable values are available here and the webpage is fairly easy to use.  We may have to resort to the 2010 Census to find numbers that would allow us to calculate the tax burden on a per capita basis – but the data are never perfect for the potential secessionist.

  High School District 13 – Lincoln County High School – pretty well covers the north county (excepting the Yaak-Sylvanite area that is part of Troy’s High School District 1.  Libby’s High School District covers the area that rules the county.

  2021	Market	Taxable	Percentage
  Libby K-12	$1,167,764,915	15,285,095	36.73%
  HS-1 (Troy)	$561,686,888	7,578,222	18.21%
  HS-13 (Eureka)	$1,324,462,346	18,742,346	45.05%
  County-wide	$3,053,914,149	41,606,036	100%

  2014	Market	Taxable	Percentage
  Libby K-12	$744,585,246	13,613,729	38.44%
  HS-1 (Troy)	$354,443,745	7,059,404	19.93%
  HS-13 (Eureka)	$705,406,090	14,743,434	41.63%
  County-wide	$1,804,435,081	35,416,567	100%

  Extrapolating a line from 2 points isn’t the most accurate way to project a trend line.  It does give a quick trend-line . . . and from this data, it looks like HS-13’s taxable value percentage is growing at almost half a percentage each year.  Somewhere around 2031, the north end of the county will be over half the county’s tax base.

  One way of looking at the situation is joy that we aren’t receiving all the government our taxes support.  In general, our Libbyan bureaucrats don’t spend a lot of time in the north end of the county.  On the other hand, the population in the north end isn’t growing quickly enough that we’ll be able to outvote them in my projected lifespan. 

  Perhaps it is time to get serious on the idea of county 57. 

  December 7, 2021
• Community Demography

  4% Growth for County 57

  The 2020 Census numbers have been released, and we’re looking at data we can begin to use.  I’m hoping to get the data at a school district level later on – but for now, we have county level data, CCD level data, and Census tract level data.

  First – Lincoln County’s population dropped by a tenth of a percent.  Second, the population in the Libby CCD dropped by 1.2% (now 9,772), population in the Troy CCD dropped by 3.9% now 3,435), and population in the Eureka CCD increased by 4.0% (now 6,470).   North County is now officially 89 residents less than a third of the county’s population.  3,435 of the people represented by the Troy Commissioner reside in the Troy CCD, while 3,124 reside in the Libby CCD.  This is a trend worth watching.

  Housing data is available at the county level – and it may give us some insight on rentals in the area.  Housing units in Lincoln County decreased by 4.0% – occupied housing units increased by 0.5%, and unoccupied housing units decreased by 19.6%. 

  In County 57 – the Eureka CCD – housing unit numbers are:

  	2020 #	2020 %	2010 #	2010 %	Change
  Total Housing Units	3,716		3,771		-1.5%
  Occupied	2,796	75.2%	2,692	71.4%	3.9%
  Vacant	920	24.8%	1,079	28.6%	-14.7%

  All these statistics are in comparison with the 2010 Census. 

  It’s going to be fun as future releases will show even more usable data.

  August 17, 2021
• Community Demography

  If LCHS District were a County

  After the article on searching Lincoln County data, the question came in: “What if North Lincoln County was its own county?”  The answer is available, but it takes the sort of personality that enjoys digging through data.  Here’s a few facts that would describe the thought experiment that would be county 57.

  County 57, sharing boundaries with the Lincoln County High School District, would rank 31st in population of Montana’s 57 counties (6,260 residents).  The remainder of Lincoln County would drop from the tenth largest population (19,980) to twelfth (12,694 residents). Data from 2010 Census and, of course, will likely change with completion of the 2020 Census. 

  Looking at market and taxable valuations we find that High School District 13 (LCHS) has a market value set at $1,202,098,056 and taxable valuation set at $17,042,130.  By my count, and this is the type of sort where it is easy to miss something, County 57 would have market and taxable valuations larger than 17 Montana counties. 

  The same source shows that Lincoln County’s market valuation is $2,741,812,498 and taxable valuation is $37,491,358.  44 Montana counties show lower market values than Lincoln County – not a great variance from the population rank.  County 57 would be 22nd in market valuation.  The remainder of County 56 – consisting of Troy and Libby High School districts, would be 21st.

  A more detailed study might include roads, total area, access to county services and a number of other items.  For a simple, “what if” analysis, looking at population and market value seems adequate.

  September 15, 2020