Property Taxes Demystified
By Commissioner Chris Endresen

It’s that time of year when taxpayers have received their property tax bills and are getting ready to pay them. Where exactly does that money go? Although you send your property taxes to Kitsap County, the money is distributed to several different government entities, such as the state, cities, schools, fire districts, public utilities districts, library districts, parks and port districts. If you live in unincorporated Kitsap County, about 24% of your taxes go to the county. This is split between the current expense (10.4%) and county road maintenance and construction (13.6%). The current expense covers most government functions, like courts, law enforcement, treasurer, auditor, assessor, parks and recreation and some health and human services. In 2006, more than 64% of our available current expense funds will go towards the law and justice programs. People who live in cities pay the county’s current expense tax, but do not pay the county road tax. Depending on the city, they instead pay between 13.7% and 28.8% of their property taxes to their city government.

So, what is the property tax process, and why do you pay a certain amount every year?

The annual property tax process begins in the Kitsap County Assessor’s Office. The Assessor is required to set the value of all property at 100% of market value, which is an estimate based on the real estate market. Factors such as location, size, views and current sales will impact the market value. Every year, the directors or commissioners of taxing districts also meet to decide how much tax to collect for the next year. However, they cannot collect more than 1% more than the previous year’s taxes with an adjustment for new construction. These meetings require public hearings where tax payer input is solicited. The Assessor determines the levy rates for each district by multiplying the adopted taxes by 1,000 and dividing this result by the districts total assessed values. The levy rates are then applied to all property in their respective districts, and the Treasurer mails out tax bills on February 14. First-half payments are due on April 30 and second-half payments are due October 31. Property tax levy rates for the Kitsap County General Fund have gone from $1.57 per $1,000 of assessed value in the year 2000 to $1.05 per $1,000 of assessed value in 2006. The reduction in rate is due to the fact that assessed values have increased at a higher rate than 1%.

There are two different kinds of levies. Regular levies may be imposed by a tax district without voter approval and are subject to statutory and constitutional limits including the 1% limit. Excess or special levies are approved by voters and generally allow for maintenance and operations or construction of buildings and facilities. These levies usually last for a fixed length of time, such as the school levies Kitsap County voters renewed in February that required a 60% majority vote to pass. Qualified senior or disabled citizens are exempt from these excess levies. Some voter-approved excess levies are for fixed-rate levies. In this case, taxes for that district would go up or down in exact proportion to property values.

How much you actually pay in property tax depends on where you live in Kitsap County. Average property values differ throughout the county, and each taxing district will have a different levy rate. I encourage you to look at your property tax statement to see where your taxes go.

While a portion of your property tax bill funds county operations, it also helps keep vital entities like schools, cities, ports, public utilities districts and fire districts operating.

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