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We are making an effort to update this site with current issues as they emerge and to provide appropriate links for easy access to greater detail.
Posted Spring 2013
Assessor's Office Mid Term Report
As a candidate for Thurston County Assessor, I spoke about restoring customer service as the foundation for policies and practices in the office, eliminating the three year backlog in appeals, and creating a more positive and respectful work environment for Assessor staff. I took office on 1/1/2011. Now at the 2 year mark, we have turned the corner, in so many ways, that I wanted to detail just what my excellent staff, managers and I have achieved.
1. We restored office hours for the public to 8-5 M-F year round. We did this at no extra cost by shifting our (willing) staff to a 4-10 work schedule.
2. We restructured the office, eliminating a major management position and using the savings to add a field position and to restore 5 positions to full time, which had been reduced when major budget cuts had occurred in 2009.
3. We increased the staff continuing education budget to support our highly skilled staffs desire to gain and utilize the very latest technology, knowledge and techniques. When it came time to replace aging laptops used by our field personnel, we replaced them with new Samsung tablets and invested in upgrades/enhancements to our appraisal software resulting in greater efficiency and lower capital costs.
4. In early 2011, we reassigned several employees and applied managers to the backlog of appeals. We began reviewing all appeals in the backlog and all new appeals first to identify those which could be and should be resolved immediately.
5. We sent out cost valuation reports immediately to all appellants in the backlog and for the first time in many years we send out cost valuation reports within 30 days of the request and have also made these available on our website.
6. We changed a key policy to be sure that when values are adjusted by the BOE or at the State board of Appeals (if appealed), that changes are reflected which carry the changed value forward to future years (subject only to normal inflation or deflation). For many, this eliminated the past need to file an appeal every year for the same result.
7. We requested authorization from the County Board of Commissioners to extend the period for filing appeals from 30 days to 60 days following when revaluation notices are mailed. This extension was granted and we use this time to dialogue with taxpayers, reinspect their property when needed, and make adjustments in values when appropriate. We added phone lines to help assure that our customers would reach a live person ready to hear their concern and facilitate a review.
8. We have made much more information available through our website including annual Revaluation Reports and an expanded searchable database which reflects All Sales in your appraisal neighborhood.
9. Upon noting that the Assessor in Thurston County had been sending revaluation notices out several months late for over 18 years, I contacted Department of Revenue and received support for a plan to "get current" in 2012. Revaluation notices were mailed out on time this June 1st, 2012, for the first time since Ann Clifton was Assessor.
All of these changes were done within our existing budget. The entire backlog in appeals has been eliminated and the number of appeal responses and hearings required, has been reduced by over 50% between 2011 and 2012 appeals. Virtually every employee in my office contributed in some way in this huge achievement.
Along the way, I came across over $10,000 that was sitting in an unused bulk mail account and returned it to the County General Fund. I also changed the policy of buying new cars for the Assessor's fleet. What we do now is acquire used cars from other county fleets when they are surplussed. This change saves the county between $20,000 and $30,000 a year.
In the 2012 legislative session, the legislature passed a Business Personal Property Amnesty law that offered one time amnesty if authorized by the County Commission. We immediately sought and received their authorization and commenced carrying out the program with the strict deadlines contained in the legislation. It was my view from the moment this law was signed, that we needed to do everything we could to afford the businesses of Thurston County this opportunity to get current without the usual penalties and interest otherwise required by law for delinquent tax liability. Though this program came with mailing, printing and staffing expenses, we administered the entire program within our existing budget.
We have accomplished much over the past 2 years, but what I am most proud of are the employees and managers I have the pleasure of working with every day, as we seek to serve the people of Thurston County with respect, impartiality and a continual focus on equity.
Sincerely,
Steven J. Drew
Thurston County Assessor
Tax Statement Notification
(Posted Feb 2013)To our valued customers:
Tax statements should reach taxpayers this year, on about February 13th. Even though the value of most properties continued to decline in 2012, for many a combination of factors will produce an increase in your tax liability.
Particularly in these difficult times, it is understandable that many taxpayers have questions as they review their tax statements. We in the Assessor’s office continue to work collaboratively with your County Treasurer, Shawn Myers and her staff in order to provide taxpayers improved access to meaningful information about how each taxpayers taxes have been calculated. With this in mind, we have made some additional changes to both web sites and added what we hope will be helpful content. Click here to read more...
Revaluation Notices Mailed June 1, 2012
This year for the first time in 16 years my office has mailed new assessment notices on time. In past years, these notices were often mailed 3 to 4 months late impacting both property owners and taxing districts. Over the past year, we have also made more information available on line in our continuing effort to provide greater transparency. Click here to read more...
County Offers Amnesty Program for Business Personal Property Taxes
(Posted April 2012)Over the past few weeks, the State Legislature passed SHB 2149 which has been signed into law by the Governor and authorized here in Thurston County by Commissioners at their 4/10/12 meeting.
In Washington State, Businesses are required to report all business property to the County Assessor for purpose of calculating its actual cash value or market value which is then used to calculate the businesses personal property tax. Businesses who fail to report this property are subject to a 25% penalty and interest. Click here to read more...
