Received my new property tax assessment — 22 percent increase from my last property tax bill. Not a problem except that I had an independent appraisal of my home, and to my surprise the appraisal came in $50,000 less than the county assessment. Upon further investigation I noted two similar homes on my same street with similar views sold for $40,000 to $60,000 less than my assessment last year. The assessor included in their comps a sale of a home from 2007, the height of the housing boom.

No problem, I thought. Send an appeal to the County Board of Equalization. Surely they would see I have evidence in an independent appraisal and two similar home sales this year that they would lower my assessment. My appeal — denied by the County Board of Rubber Stamps. Didn’t lower my bill by 1 cent. This leaves me to think what is going on in this county at this time of budget crisis. Are county assessors being given the direction to find the highest comps in order to maximize county income?

I could file a class action lawsuit, or generate a ballot initiative to change property tax methods, but much too costly for me. However, last year my wife and I spent a lot of money in Island County which generated sales tax revenue for the county. Until the county plays fair with assessments we will make most of our taxable purchases out of Island County. Won’t mean much as an individual, but if everyone made the effort the county might blink.

Otherwise, we’ll just have to sit back and watch as the county enacts their version of the stimulus plan!

Tom Kosloske

Oak Harbor