PORT LUDLOW – Paula McAvoy, like many property owners in the Chimacum School District, is not happy about her recent property revaluation.
McAvoy has lived in her home overlooking Mats Mats Bay since 1978, when she purchased the 1,100-square-foot house nestled on almost half an acre for $42,000.
When she received her revaluation statement in the mail on Aug. 2, she learned her property value had swelled to $186,760.
That’s up from $90,470 when it was last revalued in 2002, more than doubling the amount in a four-year period.
The land value alone – not including the house – jumped from $23,750 to $85,000, a 358 percent increase.
It’s not so much the amount or the increase that bothers McAvoy, but rather that she feels all the properties in her neighborhood were not revalued consistently.
“I don’t mind paying my taxes,” said McAvoy, 50. “I just want it to be consistent with what everyone else is paying or should be paying.”
She researched other evaluations the Jefferson County Web site – www.co.jefferson.wa.us/ – that shows each parcel’s new revaluation as well as historical information.
She points to one property she found as an example of an inconsistent revaluation.
It’s an adjoining property that has no house on it but that is equipped with utility hook-ups.
That property is 1.48 acres and was revalued at $60,810, almost $25,000 less than the Assessor’s Office said her land is worth, and it’s more than an acre larger, with better views.
“This one – in my opinion – is undervalued,” said Jefferson County Assessor Jack Westerman when asked about it on Friday.
“I think she’s right.”
At first glance, Westerman said that perhaps a more accurate assessment of the value of that parcel would be at least $90,000, and it could be much more, depending on the view it offers.
“You’re not going to get them all right,” he added.
