Post on 28-Dec-2015
Snohomish County Assessor’s Office
Gail S. Rauch
Snohomish County AssessorCindy S. Portmann - Chief Deputy Assessor
Chuck Sessler – Appraisal Manager
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Executive* Judicial
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Assessor* Airport Human Resources
Auditor* BRB/BOE Human Services
Clerk* Corrections Information Services
Prosecutor* Facilities Medical Examiner
Sheriff* Finance Parks & Recreation
Treasurer* Hearing Examiner
Planning & Development Srvs
Public Works
Snohomish County Voters
What is the Assessor’s job?
• Washington State law requires that Assessors– Assess all real and personal property in the
county at 100% of true and fair market value in money, unless specifically exempted by law
– Fair market value or true value is the amount that a willing and unobligated buyer is willing to pay a willing and unobligated seller
Scope
• The listing of all taxable real and personal property within the geographic boundaries of Snohomish County are within the office’s jurisdiction, including property within incorporated cities.
Real Property
• Includes land, improvements to land, structures and certain equipment fixed to structures
• Assessor values property using one or more of the following methods– Market or sales comparison– Cost Approach– Income
Personal Property
• The primary characteristic of personal property is mobility
• Personal property includes furnishings, machinery and equipment, fixtures, supplies and tools
• Most personal property owned by individuals is specifically exempt.
• If these items are used in a business, personal property tax applies
What else is the Assessor’s office responsible for?
• Administration of exemption programs such as senior citizen and non-profit
• Administration of special programs – Open Space
• (Farm & Agricultural, Timber, and General)
– Forest land– Historical Restoration
Workload Indicators
• 250,000 real property parcels to assess• 13,500 personal property accounts• 49.3 billion in assessed value• 1 billion + added for new construction
each year for the past 5 years• 9,000 senior exemptions• 28,500 phone calls (main customer service
line only)
Why do we have property tax?
• Taxing districts levy taxes to deliver services that taxpayers want and authorize
• Also used to pay for special voter-approved levies such as school maintenance and operation levies and bonds, and emergency medical levies
Senior Taxing Districts
• Washington State School Levy (1)
• General Purpose Local Governments (21)– County Government (1)– City Governments (20)
Junior Taxing Jurisdictions• Junior Taxing Jurisdictions (59)
– School Districts (15)
– Fire Districts (24)
– Health District (1)
– Library Districts (1)
– Water-7 & Sewer-3 Districts (10)
– Ports Districts (2)
– Hospital Districts (3)
– Transit (3)– Other: Recreation, Convention, Diking, PUD
Property Tax Distribution
Which local governments receive property taxes?Which local governments receive property taxes?
5.6¢ Fire Districts
10.8¢ General Uses
4.0¢ Ports &
Hospitals13.2¢ Cities &
Towns
60.4¢ School Distr
icts
6.0¢ County Roads
Current Assessment Cycle
• 4-year Reval Cycle 1999 – 2003
• County divided into 4 areas
• Each area inspected and revalued once every 4 years
• Results in different levels of assessed values
• Distribution of some tax levies are not at the same level
Iniative 747
• I-747 limited the amount a taxing district may levy, but did not affect assessed values
• Some taxing districts may have “banked levy capacity” that allows them to increase their budgets more than 1%
• Voter approved special levies are not affected by the $5.90 limit, 1% limit and I-747
Does an annual reval mean more taxes for Snohomish County?
• No.
• Snohomish County will not receive more property taxes by changing to an annual reval
• The levy rate will decrease as a result of the assessed value increasing
Annual Reval – A goal we have been working towards
• Standards, Accountability & Reorganization
• Using technology– GIS– CAMA– Ascend– Tablet computers for field appraisers– Working with Planning & Development
Annual Reval Plan
• Starting in 2004 - revaluation will be done annually
• 1/6 of property in the county will be physically inspected and updated to market value
• All property that is not physically inspected must be statistically updated annually
• New 2004 assessed value used to calculate taxes owing in 2005
Benefits of an Annual Reval
• Uniformity– All property is closer to market value
• Level of assessment– Tax burden distributed more equitably
• Predictability– Helps taxpayers and taxing districts
Uniformity
• All property is assessed every year at market value
• Particularly important if market values begin to decline
• Assessed values are not “fixed” for 4 years
Level of Assessment
• Tax burden is distributed more equitably
• Particularly important for county-wide levies such as the:– state school levy– county levies – other levies that cross area boundaries
Predictability
• Large increases in assessed values that result from a 4-year cycle are:– difficult for taxpayers to accept– misunderstood (40% increase in A/V must
equal 40% increase in taxes)– result in the area that has just been revalued
carrying a larger share of some taxes than the other 3 areas
Advances in Technology
Resulted in Increases in Efficiency • In 1975 the office had 118 employees
• In 2002 there were 71 FTEs
• In 2003 we will have 69.85 FTEs
• More than a 40% decrease in staff
• In 1973 there were 147,500 parcels
• In 2003 we will have over 250,000 parcels
• More than a 69% increase in workload