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Board votes to adjust resident’s 2024 property tax after assessor office finds valuation errors
Summary
After a public appeal, the Washington County Board voted to lower a resident’s 2024 tax bill to reflect corrected appraisals and improvements after the tax assessor’s office rechecked property values and recommended the change.
A Washington County homeowner who came to the board during public comments to contest her 2024 property tax bill left the meeting with a motion passed directing that her 2024 tax be adjusted to reflect corrected values the county tax assessor's office identified.
The homeowner, identified in the meeting as Ms. Merle (also called Miss Murrow during the discussion), said she received a 2024 tax bill that she believed overstated her property value and asked the board to reduce the 2024 tax. "I'm trying to get the 2024 tax lowered," she said during public comment.
County staff explained that an in‑office reappraisal changed the land listing from one acre to a quarter acre and that the assessor's office simultaneously revised the improvement value (the structure) downward; the net effect, county staff said, reduced the overall assessed value. The assessor's office representative told the board that the land value moved from $5,400 to $6,000 after reclassification but that adjustments to the condition and improvement valuations produced a net lower assessed value for the property.
Board action: A motion to lower the taxpayer's 2024 tax to reflect the assessor's office findings was made, seconded and carried. The board recorded the motion as an instruction to apply the assessor's corrected values to the 2024 tax roll for that parcel. County staff said the 2025 tax roll will reflect the assessor's corrected values and that, by board action, the assessor's office would also apply the corrected figures to the 2024 bill. The change was described in discussion as reducing the taxpayer's owed amount by approximately $500 compared with the earlier bill.
Why it matters: Board members repeatedly emphasized that the board depends on the tax assessor's office for accurate valuations and that the board's action was intended to align the tax roll with the assessor's corrected valuation. Supervisors discussed the calculation method used by the assessor's office and asked staff to compare valuation formulas with neighboring counties.
Ending: The board approved the change and asked the assessor's office to provide background on the county's valuation method and to compare it with other counties if necessary. The board also asked staff to notify the taxpayer of the adjustment.
(Transcript evidence: the taxpayer requested the reduction in public comment; assessor staff walked the board through the land and improvement adjustments; the board motioned and "motion carries." )
