Salt Lake County leaders have decided - at least in the rarest of cases - that the long arm of government literally can come into your living room.

By a 7-2 vote, the County Council, acting as the Board of Equalization, argued that when homeowners appeal property tax assessments, inspectors should be allowed inside homes to help them determine accurate property value.

Most owners willingly open the front door, Assessor Lee Gardner told the board Tuesday. Only once in 10 years has a resident refused and later taken the issue to court, he noted.

"The rules of civil procedure didn't go away because of this ruling," said Gardner, guessing it will be another 10 years before his office sees another problem case.

"There's no forced entry," emphasized Mary Ellen Sloan, chief district attorney for the county's tax and revenue unit. She explained the county routinely works - after getting the consent of owners - with the state Tax Commission during property value appeals.

Sloan worried that stripping the ability to do interior inspections could allow "the savvy taxpayer" to get a downward adjustment after disputing their tax bill.

"This can have ramifications far beyond one little proceeding," she said.

Precisely, argues Joycelynn Straight, a government watchdog and director of the Center for Legislative Education, Analysis and Research. It violates the Fourth Amendment, she says, and creates a "slippery slope" for the assessor to request interior appraisals in future years.

Councilman Joe Hatch insisted such inspections must remain a tool to be used "extremely judiciously" to avoid unintended consequences. His colleague Mark Crockett agreed, saying most property owners typically appeal their property value "on a shoestring."

"We don't want to discourage them from doing that with the threat of a scary civil procedure."

Still, county Tax Administrator Jodi Martin said doing physical inspections often is the only way to know the necessary details.

"It may appear to be an invasion of privacy, but that is the nature of the tax system in the state of Utah," she said. "We can't know the fair market value without looking at it."

djensen@sltrib.com

Property assessments

In other business on Tuesday, the Board of Equalization modified its rules to eliminate a conflict of interest with the assessor.

Appeals for 2005 property assessments can be filed Aug. 15. Beginning this fall, the board may select its own counsel if the County Assessor decides to appeal one of its decisions. Until now, the assessor represented both his office and the equalization board during appeals.

-