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Since 1973, Oregon’s special assessment program has enticed historic property owners with a pretty simple trade-off: An owner invests in rehabilitation of a property and opens its doors to the public once a year. In return the state freezes the assessed value of the property for 15 years.

“The intent,” said Roger Roper of the State Historic Preservation Office, “is to provide an incentive to do better with the preservation than you otherwise might.”

But intent hasn’t always translated to reality, as wealthy homeowners have tapped the program as a way to slim their taxes.  

With the Oregon Task Force on Historic Property, which is set to meet for the first time next week, the state is starting a look at how the special assessment program does – and doesn’t – work. Before the program sunsets in 2010, state legislators have a big decision to make:

Should they rework the program to make it better or let it end?

The task force was created as part of Senate Bill 416, which caps property participation at 15 years with the possibility of one additional 15-year period. The bill also lets local governments exclude certain districts from the program based on property values.

The task force – which includes representatives from groups like the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Oregon Historic Property Owners Association, the Oregon Department of Revenue as well as state Sen.Vicki Walker (D-Eugene) and state Rep. Brian Clem (D-Salem) – has a lengthy list to tackle. Its review, required to be completed by October, will take a comprehensive look at all elements of the existing program, from costs to administrative rules to how it works with other preservation programs and its economic impact on local communities.

The passing of time itself has created issues with the program. One downside is that when properties in areas where home values have increased dramatically – like Hood River – end their participation, owners are hit with much higher tax bills than they would have been if they’d never entered the program. 

“They are penalized financially for that,” Roper said.

Changes in how historic buildings are used create other questions. Condominium reuse, for example, raises questions about how multiple owners can enter the program.

The task force will look at what other states have done as well. The main tactic being used outside Oregon, Roper said, is a tax credit tied to the amount property owners actually invest in preserving their properties.

“It gets past that problem of getting the benefit without doing anything,” he said.

The group’s first meeting is next Wednesday from 1 to 3 p.m. at the State Library, 250 Winter St. N.E., in Salem.