I think letter writer Shirley Lewis has an excellent suggestion on improving the operation of the assessor’s office. My own idea was to provide the comparables with the notice of new values with any notice that increased by 25% or more.
I was pleased to discover on the assessor’s website a statement that they intend to be a professional organization. As a retired professional engineer, I know that means obeying the law and regulations, being diligent to do accurate work, keeping good records so that you can show your work when questioned, being courteous and open with communications, and upholding the good reputation of professionals in your field.
My recent experience with them has not been up to that standard, however.
My assessment increased by almost double and, when I inquired as to the basis, I was directed to file an appeal, which I did. I checked the box for a list of comparable properties and expected a reply within the 60 days set forth in the statute.
When that deadline passed, I wrote to the Board of Equalization (BOE) to find out why, and received no reply from them either. I had to pay the new tax (yes, it did almost double — proportional to the assessment).
I finally got the comparable data after 208 days. It was actually just a copy of a spreadsheet with 195 entries. I am guessing there is really no record of my actual assessment. I put that data into a spreadsheet and sorted it to find that my value is about 40% higher than the others with my property size. At the BOE hearing, no one from the assessors office attended and so I’m still unaware of their logic. The BOE refused my argument; I am appealing to the state.
We moved here less than five years ago, and we love the area. I hope we can afford to stay.
Gary Shelton
Chehalis
