Council candidates spar over taxes

By Warren Cornwall

Herald Writer

Elaine Thorsen’s mail arrived last week with some unwelcome news from the tax man.

County tax officials had determined that her farm in Arlington Heights, an increasingly popular area for new homes, was worth 36 percent more than the last time they had looked at it.

As a result, her taxes could well be going up in 2002.

"That’s a pretty big jump, wouldn’t you say?" the 68-year-old said.

Concerns from people such as Thorsen have found a prominent place in several races for the Snohomish County Council. Candidates are sparring over whether past increases were needed, and over how much property taxes have gone up.

The campaigns are unfolding with a backdrop of ballot measures that signal a dissatisfaction with the current property tax system. Washington voters in 2000 approved Initiative 722, which would have limited increases in property tax collections, only to have it rejected by the courts as unconstitutional.

Now, sponsor Tim Eyman is back for a second round with Initiative 747, which would limit regular property tax increases to 1 percent a year.

Republicans in two county council races have made tax increases a rallying point. Their Democratic opponents, meanwhile, accuse them of scare tactics fed by misleading or inaccurate statistics.

In campaign fliers, District 1 Republican candidate John Koster and District 5 Republican candidate Jeff Sax have warned voters of "whopping" tax increases. Sax has said property taxes have risen 43 percent in the past three years in north Snohomish County. Koster’s mailing warned that taxes have risen by more than 30 percent over that time.

Those increases are helping put homeownership out of reach for some, said Koster, a former three-term lawmaker and a vocal critic of tax increases in Olympia. He said he recently spoke with one woman on a fixed income who said, "I can’t afford to own my home anymore."

His Democratic opponent, Mike Ashley, charged that Koster’s claims are needlessly frightening people and show that he doesn’t understand how property taxes work.

"John’s engaged in the worst kind of fear mongering," said the Silvana dairy farmer.

Snohomish County property owners on average have seen some of the largest property tax increases of any county in the state over the past six years, according to a new analysis by the state Department of Revenue.

But that study, and an analysis by The Herald, found average increases below what some candidates have claimed.

The county ranked seventh among counties for average property tax increases from 1996 to 2001, with a 21.6 percent increase. That takes into account both increases in the assessed value of property and the changes in tax rates.

Over the past four years, an average Snohomish County property owner saw a 16.3 percent increase in property taxes. For an average home valued at the median county home price of $168,800 in 1998, that would mean an added $364 in property taxes by 2001.

While that represents a countywide average, officials cautioned that increases in real tax bills vary from house to house and neighborhood to neighborhood. Property in some areas may increase in value more than other neighborhoods, said Don Gutmann, a property tax analyst with the Revenue Department. A particular tax district, such as a school district, may also have a higher tax rate than another.

Sax defended his claims, saying he was provided the information by a county council staffer. By analyzing a countywide average over four years, Sax said The Herald analysis overlooked spikes in property tax increases in particular areas as they are reassessed.

"There was an actual 43 percent increase in tax dollars laid out by taxpayers in the north county," he said.

Koster could not be reached for comment Saturday. Earlier, he said he based his estimates on the increase in assessed value for a home, but was confident it reflected the larger picture.

"I bet if I’d done the research I’d find out that isn’t inaccurate at all," he said.

Snohomish County Assessor Gail Rauch said Sax’s claim was unlikely.

Tax officials have been updating the estimated value of north county property for tax values this year. Some assessments, particularly for land, have increased by up to 100 percent, according to the assessor’s office. But just because a property’s value increases a certain amount doesn’t mean taxes will go up that much, Rauch said.

She also noted that the 2001 valuations don’t kick in until the 2002 tax year, meaning any tax increases tied to property values there wouldn’t have happened yet.

"I don’t care what party they are, if they are going to talk about property taxes, they need to talk to the people that are going to administer it," she said of the candidates.

Sax, however, criticized Rauch as partisan. She recently wrote a letter to the editor criticizing a campaign mailing by Koster, and has donated money to the campaigns of the three Democratic candidates, according to state campaign filings.

Department of Revenue spokesman Mike Gowrylow said The Herald analysis would smooth out spikes in particular neighborhoods, but that analyzing a four-year period would capture a more complete picture because Snohomish County properties are reassessed every four years.

Somers defended his claim that Snohomish County has had some of the lowest property taxes in recent years. He pointed to a 2000 news article that stated the county, led by a Democrat-controlled council, slowed property tax growth more than other Washington counties in the previous year. The county raised regular property tax collections by 1.4 percent in 1999. The county raised them by 6 percent in 1998. Both years it raised another portion of the tax earmarked for road projects by 6 percent.

While overall property taxes may have increased faster over six years, he said, the council can’t be blamed for increases by other governments, which account for more than 80 percent of property tax collections.

"I can’t get blamed for something I have no control over," he said.

The complicated interplay between property assessments and the final tax bill is evident in Thorsen’s property. As is the surprise that can come when property values increase dramatically.

For tax purposes, the value for the couple’s home and 17 acres rose by 36 percent in 2001, from $161,300 to $218,500, thanks to the new reassessment by the county, according to county property records.

The increase was less than it could have been, because part of the property qualified for exemptions for senior citizens with lower incomes and for farmland. Still, several acres of land didn’t get those exemptions, and became the driving force in the increase in her taxable value.

Thorsen is still unsure what that will do to her final tax bill.

The final bill hinges on the tax rate applied to her property. That in turn is affected by budget decisions from the various governments getting part of the property tax bill — school districts, fire and emergency services, the state and the county — as well as voter-approved levies. It also depends on how much the value of other properties in the taxing district have gone up. If most others grew in value even faster, part of a property owner’s tax increase could shift to other properties, Rauch said.

In recent years, the county council has consistently approved increases in property tax collections, both for the regular property tax and for the property tax earmarked for road projects. For 2001, the council raised general tax collections by 2 percent. It unanimously voted to raise road tax collections by 6 percent as well, with council members citing the pressing need for road improvements.

The council will soon be weighing whether to increase property tax collections again. County executive Bob Drewel’s 2002 budget proposal calls for raising the regular county property tax by 1.89 percent, in keeping with inflation. Drewel also wants a 6 percent increase in the county’s road fund. Those increases would mean another $17.87 in 2002 property taxes for the owner of a $150,000 house, according to county finance officials.

You can call Herald Writer Warren Cornwall at 425-339-3463 or send e-mail to

cornwall@heraldnet.com.

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