As Pierce County Assessor-Treasurer, people ask why I raise taxes. Here’s my answer | Opinion

It’s been said that people don’t want to see how the sausage is made, and that may be true of property taxes too. But I’d like to take a shot at explaining, in hopes of clearing up some misconceptions and pointing to ways you can have more control over your tax bill.

I’ll start with the number one misconception held by many taxpayers — raising your property value raises your taxes. Last July, my office sent out the 2022 value notices, which are used to calculate 2023 taxes. You may recall the increase in value was huge — 19% for the average Pierce County home.

The tax statements mailed out earlier this month (or sent to your lender if you have a mortgage) showed an average tax increase of 5.4%. And taxes actually went down for 12% of homeowners. How can this be?

I have 35 appraisers who regularly inspect about 330,000 properties in Pierce County, to track your home’s value in the current market. This is not to determine your tax bill, but rather to determine your fair share of the total tax bill in your area. If you think we got your value wrong, the time to file a free appeal is within 60 days of receiving your value notice in July.

Property taxes are the primary source of revenue for K-12 schools, fire districts, parks and libraries. Along with sales tax, they are a big part of the budget for cities and towns, and for the county itself. Each of these has statutory limits on how much can be collected. Without a vote of the people, these amounts can only increase by one percent over the previous year. (There is a bill currently being considered by the Washington Legislature that could increase this to 3% starting next year; If you don’t like that idea, let your legislators know right away.)

Beyond that one percent increase, the average property tax bill increased another 4.4% compared to last year. The reason is that voters approved 23 new levies or levy lid lifts during the past year. These majority votes in 2022 account for almost 43% of this year’s increases.

Some voters are confused by the language used to promote these ballot issues. They are often presented as replacement levies, only restoring the rate you paid in the past. But if you were paying, for example, one dollar per thousand dollars value on a house that was worth $400,000 and the value increased this year to $490,000, that will add $90 to your tax bill.

So, when voters ask me, “Why did you raise my taxes?” the truth is that either your neighbors or your Legislature raised the taxes. The Assessor-Treasurer simply makes sure all increases are allowed by law and are distributed fairly to all taxpayers.

While I hope this explanation of the process is helpful, I understand the bottom line is simple: “Taxes keep going up along with everything else, and I just can’t afford it!” If you have reached age 61, or are fully disabled at any age, you may qualify for some relief. If your total household income is under $45,708, your taxable value will be frozen and all voted taxes, such as local school levies, will be removed from your tax statement. If your income is even lower, a larger part of your tax bill will be exempted. (Again, the Legislature is in session, and they are considering another bill that would raise the income limit, due to inflation and the recent 8.4% increase in Social Security benefits. That could disqualify some exemption recipients.)

To apply for this exemption, or for more information on property taxes (if your eyes haven’t glazed over already), go to our website at piercecountywa.gov/atr or call us at (253) 798-6111. When you enter your address or tax parcel number online, you’ll be able to see a pie chart showing exactly where your tax dollars go.

How much is the right amount of taxes? After a decade in this office, I can say the answer for most governments is, “Just a little bit more,” and for the average citizen, “Enough is enough!”

Your Assessor-Treasurer’s office will keep trying to meet the need, without breaking your bank.

Mike Lonergan was elected Pierce County Assessor-Treasurer in 2012 and is now in his third term. He is a 39-year Pierce County resident and previously served on the Tacoma City Council.