Letter : Assessment process is flawed; voice your concerns

Published 9:30 am Wednesday, June 15, 2016

On April 11, King County held a town hall meeting in Fall City. Deputy Assessor Al Dams attended. One item discussed was property tax rates and the county’s tax assessment zoning, specifically, why is the Valley zoned the same as Redmond and Bellevue?

I wanted to share two important items from a letter Dams sent to those who attended.

The assessor states that Carnation/Fall City and Redmond are only marginally different. When I look at things such as infrastructure, schools, police response time, land use, commercial operations, median household income, I see significant differences between the two areas.

The assessor also states that when your home is assessed, it is not combined with Redmond.

In 2014, my home valuation increased by 24 percent, like most Valley residents’. But actual housing sale prices went up only 4 to 6 percent in our area.

During my appeal, the Assessor compared my home to a home in Redmond. In fact, of the three homes used as comps, the closest was 18 minutes away. Not one home in my area was used.

If having your home compared to Bellevue and Redmond is of concern, or if you feel there is more than a marginal difference between Redmond and the Valley, voice your opinion to john.wilson@kingcounty.gov and to the King County Executive (kcexec@kingcounty.gov) and County Councilmember, Kathy Lambert (kathy.lambert@kingcounty.gov).

Jason Smith

Carnation