Island County Assessor Dave Mattens said his goal this year is to send out change of property value notices by June 1, which would be the earliest they’ve been distributed in many years — possibly ever.

But property owners who don’t agree with the assessed values need to be aware of a rule change.

The appeal period for property owners has been cut from 60 days to 30 days, as it was years ago. Mattens asked the county commissioners to make the change in county code earlier this year and they agreed.

Mattens explained that the former assessor asked for the extension of the appeal period to 60 days to allow property owners to have more time to determine if they have grounds for an appeal and to reduce the workload of the Board of Equalization by having the appeals come in over a longer period.

It didn’t work out that way. Mattens said the majority of the people would wait until the last minute to send in their appeals, pushing back the county’s property tax schedule and increasing the workload of the Board of Equalization.

“It was a very inefficient way to operate,” he said. “With the tough economic times and the cutbacks in the county, we have to learn to be more efficient.”

Filing an appeal, Mattens said, is simple. A property owner only needs to fill out “form A” with name, address, a reason the assessment is wrong, and estimate of value. A hearing will be scheduled for later in the year. At least seven business days before the hearing, the property owner must file “form B” with supporting documentation of the estimate of value.