Two numbers determine the property taxes you pay in Snohomish County: One number is the tax rate that is paid for every $1,000 in value of a home or other property, a number that can differ depending on the city, school district and other districts in which one lives. The other number is the fair market value of the property, a number that is determined by the county assessor’s office.
But public acceptance of the property tax system requires that property be valued fairly and equitably against similar properties, a value that a willing buyer and seller would agree to under normal circumstances, which makes management of the assessor’s office an important consideration for voters.
Snohomish County’s current assessor, Cindy Portmann, has been elected three times and under the office’s term limit cannot run for re-election. Two have filed to succeed her: Linda Hjelle, the office’s chief deputy assessor, and Marty Glaser, an independent real estate appraiser.
Glaser, a resident of the county for 46 years who lives in Snohomish, has worked as an appraiser for 29 years and owns an appraisal business. Glaser trained as an apprentice at a Bellevue firm, was certified by the state in 1991 and has received 500 hours of appraisal education.
Hjelle has worked in the assessor’s office for 26 years, 11 of those as its chief deputy. She is a resident of Granite Falls. Hjelle has a bachelor’s degree in language arts education from Washington State University and has taken multiple courses through the state Department of Revenue and the International Association of Assessing Officers.
Glaser believes his daily experience in assessing property qualifies him to run the office and that the county assessor should have training and experience as an appraiser. Glaser also believes there are inequities in the county between assessed property values and sale prices. Glaser faults the office’s over-reliance on mass appraisal, which determines value for a group of properties using standardized procedures and statistical testing. Glaser said he would seek to personally train and develop the office’s staff.
Hjelle defends the mass appraisal system, noting that in order for the office to make its annual assessments of nearly 250,000 parcels in the county, physical appraisals of all properties wouldn’t be possible. Even so, all properties are inspected physically every six years or sooner.
Nor has the state found fault with the county’s performance in valuing property. The state Department of Revenue’s 2014 report on county appraisal performance found Snohomish County well within expected ratios for the values of what property was assessed at as compared to the price similar properties were being sold for.
As chief deputy, Hjelle oversaw the office’s switch in 2004 from its schedule of property reevaluations every four years to the current annual system. She also has instituted cost-saving procedures and efficiency reviews. Drawing on her teaching degree, Hjelle says she intends to continue Portmann’s community outreach, particularly to schools, to provide greater understanding of how the tax system works.
Hjelle’s decades of service in the office and her wealth of knowledge and experience in mass appraisal, property tax administration, geographical information system (GIS) mapping, computer technology, exemptions and other areas more than qualifies her to succeed Portmann as assessor.
Correction: An earlier version of this editorial misstated current Assessor Cindy Portmann’s name.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
