Lawmakers will explain property taxes, answer questions

Olympia,WA - With new property tax valuations hitting Chelan County homeowners' mailboxes, Sen. Linda Parlette and Rep. Cary Condotta will participate in a public forum on property taxes June 24 at 6:30 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center at Chelan High School.

The meeting is organized by GoLakeChelan.com and the Lake Chelan Chamber of Commerce. Topics will include future property tax changes as well as tax and budget trends.

The issue of property taxes, say the 12th District lawmakers, is raising ire among property owners who have seen their property taxes rise an average of 6.7 percent in 2005, 9.5 percent in 2006, and a staggering 15.8 percent in 2007, according to the Chelan County Assessor's office, although many people’s bills have gone up much higher.

“Some of the assessments that people just received have gone up as much as two thousand percent,” said Parlette. “It’s no wonder people are so worried.”

Parlette and Condotta sit on the legislative committees that deal with tax and finance issues, and have been pursuing property tax legislation for several years.

"I have been trying to get the attention of other senators about the need to address property taxes since 2005 when 12th District residents came to me with valid complaints," said Parlette, R-Wenatchee. "Over the past few sessions I have sponsored legislation that would have provided real and tangible property tax relief for property owners in our district. Those bills and other property tax relief measures did not pass, but we are not giving up, and meetings like this one are very helpful in drawing attention to the issue. In the state Senate, it is the Ways and Means Committee that will decide which, if any, property tax relief bills move forward. I invited the chair of that committee to join us on June 24, but her schedule did not allow it. The good news is that some of the Ways and Means Committee staff will travel from Olympia to give a short presentation on how property taxes work, hear the concerns of those I represent, and help me carry those concerns back to the committee chair."  

"This issue is not new and is being aggravated by high gas and food prices," said Condotta, R-East Wenatchee. "Homeowners want answers and they want information on how properties are assessed and taxed. There is a lot of misunderstanding and misinformation out there and equitable solutions are not simple matters. Like our Senator, I have supported greater safeguards to ensure families aren't taxed out of their homes. I am looking forward to this forum taking place so we can outline our choices going forward and try to determine what our constituents desire."

Constituents that need immediate assistance with their property tax assessments can contact their assessor’s office. Constituents with ideas for changes to state law can contact Parlette's district office at (509) 663-9702 or Condotta's district office at (509) 664-1274