RINNON — The Jefferson County Assessor’s Office reassessed properties in the Brinnon and Quilcene school districts this year, and reported an average increase per property of about 40 percent from last year.
”In some areas along the waterfront of the Hood Canal, we had some property values that doubled,” said county Assessor Jack Westerman.
”But Brinnon is sort of a dual area.”
Brinnon has both waterfront properties, which saw the greatest increase, and timberland owned by the state Department of Natural Resources that did not rise much in value.
The combination meant that the average increase leveled off at about 40 percent from last year, said Westerman.
About 5,500 parcels of Jefferson County’s 29,000 taxable properties were reassessed this year.
The average increase per parcel was 43 percent in Brinnon.
It was 36.5 percent in Quilcene.
Brinnon was higher because it has more waterfront property, Westerman said.
Real estate market
The increase can be attributed to an upward price trend in the real estate market, said Westerman.
He said the Assessor’s Office cannot speculate as to future trends when reassessing properties, but must have current real estate sales figures to constitute the reevaluations.
But not everyone agrees with the re-evaluations of the Auditor’s Office.
Joy and Joe Baisch of Brinnon are appealing their reassessment, as are at least 23 other property owners this year.
They feel the increase is too steep.
”The thing that amazed me was the increase jumped significantly,” said Joy Baisch. ”To me it’s crazy.”
Her home on three acres on Dosewallips Road went from an assessment of $288,200 four years ago to $386,970 this year.
That’s a nearly $100,000 jump, a 34.3 percent increase, or 8.6 percent increase for each of the four years the value remained constant.
Baisch said six months before the county reassessed her home, she had her property independently appraised at no more than $350,000.
”I know what the house appraised for, and the county was wrong,” said Baisch.
But Westerman said the 34.3 percent that Baisch’s home increased in value is actually below average.
”Even that in this market is really nothing,” said Westerman. ”But we totally understand the concern.”
The Baisches have an appeal hearing scheduled with the Jefferson County three-member Board of Equalization on Nov. 28 to argue their case.
The board is independent of the Assessor’s Office.
If either party is still dissatisfied with the Board of Equalization’s decision, an appeal can then be made to the State Board of Tax Appeals for a final decision.
Tax bills
In 2006, Brinnon property owners paid $7.99 per $1,000 of assessed valuation, and Quilcene property owners paid $9.33 per $1,000 of assessed valuation.
That means a property owner in Brinnon with a $200,000 home paid $1,598 in taxes and a Quilcene property owner a house at the same value paid $1,866 in property taxes.
Westerman said the rate per $1,000 should decrease by about 10 percent for the 2007 taxes in that area, but because most values increased by more than 10 percent, taxes will still go up next year in Brinnon and Quilcene.
He said he’ll know the tax amount in late January of 2007.
Jefferson County is on a four-year cycle.
The county is separated into four reassessment sections — Port Townsend School District, which includes only parcels incorporated in the City of Port Townsend; Brinnon and Quilcene school districts; Chimacum School District; and the unincorporated parcels in the Port Townsend School District, Gardiner and the West End.
