UPDATE 06/26/2009:
ABOUT YOUR NOTICE OF ASSESSED VALUE
Notices of 2009 assessed values will be mailed to all Pierce County taxpayers by mid-July. Mobile/Manufactured home owners will receive their notices first during the last week of June. All other notices, except business personal property, will be received starting July 18. Those properties with new construction or remodels, along with properties that need further adjustment due to administrative processes, will receive a supplemental notice after August 30th. Assessed values of 2009 for all real properties and mobile/manufactured homes are now posted on our website.
Your notice of value is meant to inform you of our office's estimate of your 2009 assessed value for taxes due in 2010. According to Washington State law, specifically RCW 84.40.020 and 84.40.030, Assessor's must value all property at 100% of its true and fair value, as of January 1 of the assessment year. To do so, we have to use sales that took place in 2008 to arrive at your 2009 value. That means it is likely that the value you see on your card may not be indicative of today's market. It is a fact that assessed values lag behind the real estate market because we must estimate the value of the property as of that January 1 date. Changes that occur in the real estate market from January 1st, 2009 through December 31st, 2009 will be reflected in the January 1st, 2010 assessments that will be used to calculate property taxes payable in 2011. The taxes are calculated by multiplying the value times the tax rate (& divide by 1,000). The voters are the ones who determine what levies or bonds are passed and that is how the tax rate comes about.
In the years when market values were trending upward, the same methodology was adhered to. Assessments in those years could not keep pace with market increases. We want you to know this office is aware of the difficult economic realities that confront us all today and we will earnestly extend every possible consideration to taxpayers that the law allows.
As a service to taxpayers, value notices are being sent to all property owners, whether or not there has been a change in value. Please take the time to look at your notice when you receive it, this is the value that will be used to calculate your 2010 taxes. You will have 60 days from the date of the notice mailing to appeal the value, if you choose to do so. Instructions for filing a property tax appeal are on the back of the notice. We encourage you call our office, toll free 1-800-992-2456 or locally 798-6111, to clarify any questions you might have regarding your value change or the assessment process before you consider filing an appeal.
You the taxpayers are my employer- please email me at my office regarding any questions you have. (dwasham@co.pierce.wa.us)
Thank you for your trust,
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