Property valuations languish in Island County Assessor’s office

Property owners in Island County will have to wait longer than usual to find out if their property values changed.

Island County Assessor Mary Engle announced this week that tax valuation notices will be sent out in September, along with new construction notices.

Tax valuation notices are the assessor’s opinion of the market value of residential and commercial properties. Normally, they are sent out in June.

But Engle said the late mailings are a cost-saving measure. Tax valuation and new construction notices, which normally are mailed in September, will now be sent in the same envelope.

“The Department of Revenue said that more and more counties are doing this,” she said. “It’s not a huge savings, but every little bit counts.”

Engle said a lot of worried property owners have been calling the assessor’s office to ask where their tax valuation notices are, but she said there’s no reason to be concerned.

The assessor’s office sends out about 41,000 tax valuation notices each year. This year there will be 2,200 new construction notices, which she said is a big decrease from previous years. Most of new construction isn’t in new homes, she said, but smaller things like decks and additions.

The delay in sending out the notices will push back the board of equalization’s schedule. Engle explained that property owners have 30 days from the date of the mailing listed on the notice to appeal their property value with the Island County Board of Equalization. Appeal information will be on the mailing notice and the assessor’s website.

 

Contact Whidbey News Times Assistant editor Jessie Stensland at jstensland@whidbeynewsgroup.com or 360.675.6611 ext. 5056.

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