what does the assessor do?
The Chelan County Assessor is responsible for determining the value of all taxable real and personal property in the county on a fair and equitable basis. The assessor is also responsible for calculating the levy rates for each taxing district for the purpose of tax collection by the county treasurer. Your property taxes go to pay for our schools, local government services, libraries, fire departments, and other services throughout the county. The wellbeing of our local government and the taxpayers we serve depends on the thoroughness and fairness of your Chelan County Assessor. This responsibility should not be taken lightly and requires a trusted leader who has experience and understanding of the many, varied, and changing responsibilities of the assessor.
What motivated you to run for county assessor?
When our former assessor, Deanna Walter, stepped down to become the director of community development for the county, I knew the best decision that I could make for our team in the assessors office as well as the property owners of Chelan County was to run for office. The driving force behind my desire to serve as your county assessor has been part of my life’s journey, which began straight after high school with my service to our country in the US Army. My career after the Army led me to serve the property owners of our county through the real estate industry and my time in the assessors office. For the past 12 years, Deanna and I have worked side by side in our commitment to keep the office transparent and available to the public. We have worked hard to cultivate an environment in which our team continues to provide our property owners with exceptional customer service while also continuing to improve and update our assessor data for accuracy to ensure fair and equitable assessments. I am dedicated and committed to ensuring that the assessor’s office continues to provide every property owner with the opportunity to become involved and engaged in the assessment process by continuing to disseminate accurate information and respond to concerns and questions.
What leadership traits, experience, and skills establish you as the best candidate?
Knowledge and experience in all aspects of the office are extremely important, as you want a county assessor that not only understands the appraisal process but also market sales analysis, the levy process for calculating your property taxes, and exemption programs, just to name a few of the responsibilities of your assessor. This responsibility requires an experienced leader who has a strong understanding of Washington law, strong mathematical and analytical skills, and the ability to work well with every tax district and the state to ensure that assessments and calculations are accurate. I have over 36 years of assessment-related experience, with the first 20 years of my career working my way from a real estate agent to a broker in the real estate industry. I joined the assessor’s office in 2007, where I started as a residential appraiser and worked my way up to Chief Deputy before the County Commissioners appointed me as assessor this April. I am a consistent, fair, and trusted leader who has the knowledge and skills to ensure that our office continues to be available, transparent, and provides the courteous and thorough customer service that our property owners have come to expect. I will continue to work with other elected officials and our legislature when they propose legislation that would raise property taxes or implement new exemption programs that will result in our property owners paying more in property taxes.
How do you ensure that assessments are fair and equitable across different types of properties?
The best way to ensure that assessments are fair and equitable is to make sure that our assessor data for each property is accurate. We physically inspect a fourth of the county every year to ensure that our assessment data is current. Washington law requires the assessor to value all taxable property at 100% of its true and fair market value in terms of money, according to the highest and best use of the property. Fair market value is the price most people would pay for your property in its present condition. We statistically update all taxable properties using adjustments derived from the analysis of recent sale data for comparable properties within a neighborhood or area to establish the fair market value for that area. This sales analysis dictates the statistical adjustments for different types of properties, which we typically identify as personal, residential, commercial/industrial. Residential properties are typically valued using market sales analysis, while most commercial/industrial properties are valued using the income approach by analyzing the property’s value based on its capacity to generate revenue for the owner. By Washington law, our office is required to use sale data from theprevious year to set the fair market value for your property’s current assessed value, which is set on January 1st.
How do you handle situations where property owners disagree with their assessment?
Information is knowledge, and I encourage all property owners to get in touch with our office to review the valuation of their property anytime they may have a question or concern regarding their assessed property value or the property tax system. You can call our office at (509) 667-6365, visit us in person at the courthouse, or send us an email at assessor@co.chelan.wa.us. Our team will go over the details of the property to verify that our assessment records are accurate, explain how the market sales analysis was conducted, and go over the sales that we used for market adjustments to derive your assessed value. If our team discovers an error in our data, we will correct your assessed value and can go back three years if the error existed then. Manifest errors allow us to make corrections without a hearing. If, after consulting with our team, you still believe that your assessed value does not reflect market value, you may file an appeal with the Chelan County Board of Equalization (BOE) by July 1st or within 30 days of the mailing of the Notice of Value to petition for a hearing.
Explain the importance of uniformity in property assessments.
Chelan County has been revaluing all properties on an annual basis since 2010 to reflect current market values for tax purposes. Prior to this, we were only reviewing a fourth of the county annually, which meant that three-quarters of the county was not revalued and did not reflect the current market conditions. An annual revaluation of all areas of the county ensures uniformity, equity, and predictability with your assessed property value. Uniformity in property assessments ensures that tax responsibility is distributed more equitably among our property owners, as the assessed value of your property determines the share of the property taxes for which you will be responsible. An annual revaluation means that all properties are reviewed annually, so all property owners pay a more equitable share in each tax year. This is particularly important for the state school levy and other countywide levies. Uniformity in property assessments also creates predictability because property owners and taxing districts know what to expect. The intent of an annual revaluation is to reduce the large fluctuations in assessed values that sometimes result from a multi-year cycle. Changes in assessed value should be predictable; however, in a rapidly changing market, it makes the valuation process more sensitive to highs and lows, contrary to the legislatures intent.