County Assessor's Manual - Washington State

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CountyAssessor'sManual

November 2019County Assessor's Reference Manual for Washington StateFOREWORDThe county assessor is responsible for determining the true and fair value of locally assessed properties, real andpersonal. The wellbeing of local government and of the taxpayers it serves depends on the thoroughness andfairness of the assessor.Responsibilities of the assessor are many, varied, and changing. Newly elected or appointed officials and staffmay require assistance in learning and mastering the myriad concepts, terms, laws, rules, policies, andprocedures that apply. Even experienced assessors need occasional reference material.The Washington State Association of County Assessors (WSACA) was appointed and assigned the duty ofdeveloping a manual for the office of County Assessor.This manual, which was originally approved by WSACA, is maintained and periodically updated by the PropertyTax Division of the Department of Revenue (DOR). It serves as a reference guide for assessors and is intended forpractical use.For General Information pertinent to laws or rules relating to the duties of the assessor, refer to the RevisedCode of Washington (RCW), the Washington Administrative Code (WAC), and Property Tax Advisories (PTA).If Specific Information is Necessary relative to state laws or judicial rulings, contact your Prosecuting Attorney.Some areas have court cases listed, which were linked in older versions of the Manual, there are no links in thisversion.For Assistance or Advice contact:Department of RevenueProperty Tax DivisionP. O. Box 47471Olympia, Washington 98504-7471Telephone (360) 534-1400

November 2019County Assessor's Reference Manual for Washington StateTable of ContentsCHAPTER 1 – General Information. 11.1State Government . 11.2County Government . 21.3County Assessor . 31.4Other Elected Officials . 111.5Washington Association of County Assessors . 151.6Washington Association of County Officials . 201.7International Association of Assessing Officers . 29CHAPTER 2 – Department of Revenue . 312.1Summary of Duties and Powers . 312.2General Provisions . 33CHAPTER 3 – Taxable Property. 343.1General Information . 343.2Real Property . 393.3Mobile Homes . 423.4Current Use. 423.5Timber and Forest Land – Reforestation Lands . 473.6Personal Property . 483.7State Assessed Property . 513.8Other Property . 543.9In Lieu of Property Tax . 543.10 Public Lands . 553.11 Leases . 56CHAPTER 4 – Property Tax Collection. 584.1Taxable Situs . 584.2Listing of Property . 584.3Collection of Taxes. 604.4Lien of Taxes . 634.5Omitted Property and Omitted Value . 634.6Destroyed Property . 644.7Refunds . 644.8Reassessment of Property . 654.9Recovery of Taxes Paid or Property Sold for Taxes . 65CHAPTER 5 – Exemptions and Deferrals. 665.1Senior Citizens and Disabled Persons. 665.2Nonprofit Organizations . 675.3Deferral of Special Assessments and/or Property Taxes . 715.4Other Exemptions. 73CHAPTER 6 – Taxing Districts . 786.1Taxing Districts . 78

November 2019County Assessor's Reference Manual for Washington State6.2Plats . 786.3Surveys . 796.4Segregations . 80CHAPTER 7 – Levies . 817.1Levy of Taxes . 817.2Limitations . 857.3Withdrawal or Reannexations of Areas . 877.4Public Hearings – Increasing Revenues . 87CHAPTER 8 – Property Tax Annual Ratio Study. 88CHAPTER 9 – Assessment Roll/Tax Roll . 89CHAPTER 10 – Special Benefit Assessment Districts . 9110.1 Diking and Drainage . 9110.2 Flood Control Districts . 9110.3 Irrigation And Rehabilitation Districts . 9210.4 Forest Fire Protection Assessment Districts. 9210.5 Horticultural Assessment Districts . 9210.6 Mosquito Control Districts . 9210.7 Pest Control Districts . 9210.8 Reclamation Districts. 9210.9 River and Harbor Improvement . 9210.10 Road Improvement Districts . 9310.11 Television Reception Improvement District . 9310.12 Weed Districts . 93CHAPTER 11 – Appeals . 9411.1 Board of Equalization . 9411.2 Board of Tax Appeals . 9611.3 Other Appeals . 97CHAPTER 12 – Tax Increment Financing . 9812.1 Community Revitalization Financing (CRF) . 9812.2 Hospital Benefit Zones (HBZ) . 9812.3 Local Infrastructure Financing Tool (LIFT) . 9812.4 Local Revitalization Financing (LRF) . 9912.5 Local Infrastructure Project Area Financing (LIPA) . 10012.6 State Land Improvement Financing Area (SLIFA) . 10012.7 Commercial Office Space Development Area (COSDA) . 101CHAPTER 13 – Annual Reports . 102CHAPTER 14 – Record Retention . 103APPENDIX A – Definitions and Terminology . 104APPENDIX B – Property Tax Advisories & Special Notices . 117APPENDIX C – Forms and Publications . 119C.1Forms . 119C.2Publications . 123APPENDIX D – Miscellaneous Materials . 124

November 2019County Assessor's Reference Manual for Washington State1CHAPTER 1 – General Information1.1State GovernmentAt the state level, the government of Washington is organized along the same lines as the federal model withthree branches of government. The underlying theory is the power to govern is divided into three parts in orderto provide checks and balances and to prevent the centralization. The government is composed of the legislativebranch, the executive branch, and the judicial branch.Legislative BranchThe legislative branch is made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The Senate has 49 electedmembers corresponding to the number of legislative districts in the state. The House of Representatives has 98elected members, two for each district. The general functions of the Legislature are to provide funding throughthe appropriations and budgeting process and to pass legislation, which becomes the statutory law ofWashington. Legislation may originate in either house, but it must be passed by both houses before the billpasses to the governor. The governor can either sign the bill into law, veto portions of the bill before signing, ordecide not to sign the bill. If the governor does not act on a bill that passed both houses, the bill becomes lawwithout a signature.More information about the legislative process is available through the Washington State Legislature website athttp://leg.wa.gov/.Executive BranchThe executive branch of government is represented by the Governor, the appointed state officials who form acabinet, and the elected state officials. The Governor is charged with enforcing the laws of the state. To do this,they appoint a number of officials with statewide jurisdiction who are the heads of the administrative stateagencies. These administrative agencies fall into the general categories of natural resources, generalgovernment, transportation, human services, education, and economic development.In addition to the Governor and the agency heads, executive power is also shared by various independentlyelected statewide officials: Lieutenant governor: The president of the Senate who serves as Governor when the incumbent isout of state or incapacitated. Treasurer: The chief fiscal officer for the state. The treasurer is responsible for collecting,safeguarding, and investing the state's monies and attending to other financial matters which affectthe state. Attorney general - The lawyer for the state. The office represents the various divisions anddepartments of the state, prosecutes and defends actions pertaining to the state, and has a limitedauthority to prosecute crime. State auditor - Audits state agencies and divisions of local government. The office is responsible forpreparing a uniform budgeting, accounting, and reporting system and issues advisory opinions onthe propriety of financial record keeping.

November 2019County Assessor's Reference Manual for Washington State2 Secretary of state - Charged with four major areas of responsibility: election supervision,corporation and limited partnership filings, the state archives, and charitable solicitationregistrations. The office is the custodian of The Seal of the State of Washington, the StateConstitution, and all original session laws passed by the Legislature. Superintendent of public instruction - Created to centralize the operation of the former electedcounty superintendents of schools. The office is responsible for working with local school boardsand educational service districts to provide primary and secondary education throughout the state. Insurance commissioner - Responsible for registering insurance companies operating in the stateand overseeing the compliance and penalty provisions of the state insurance code. The office alsosupervises the formation of insurance locally and generally oversees the reinsurance market. Commissioner of public lands - Oversees the Department of Natural Resources. The office has theresponsibility of keeping the state trust land productive and able to provide financial support for thestate's educational and other institutions. The department has several regulatory and servicerelated duties concerning natural resources and must develop plans for the management of thestate's three million upland acres.Judicial BranchThe judicial branch of government is composed of the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, and the lesser courtsorganized after these two. The Supreme Court is the ultimate arbiter of state law and has the responsibility tointerpret state statutes and the State Constitution. It promulgates the common law through its decisions anddecisions of the lower courts. The Court of Appeals is an intermediate appellate body which reviews decisions bythe state's trial courts and is, subject to review by the Supreme Court.Below the level of the Court of Appeals are the:1.2 Superior court - The countywide trial court of primary jurisdiction, its judges are both state andcounty officers. It handles all matters criminal and civil and often acts as an appellate body to reviewdecisions of lower courts. District court - Operated by the county, and its jurisdiction extends only to that portion of thecounty which is within its judicial district. It is empowered to consider minor criminal and civilmatters and provides the public with judicial recourse which is less expensive and more accessiblethan the superior court. Municipal court - Organized under the jurisdiction of the city, and its authority does not reachoutside the city limits. It is principally responsible for considering violations of city ordinances.County GovernmentA county is defined as an administrative subdivision of a state and, in the United States, is the next subdivisionbelow the state. A county government is made up of a number of offices and agencies charged with theresponsibilities of carrying out the requirements of the State Constitution as they pertain to taxation, licensing,judicial, police, and essential services to the public.The state of Washington has 39 counties. A county’s system of government follows the standard form of countygovernment, except those counties that have adopted through a public vote to operate under the “Home Rule”charter form of county government. The major difference involves greater flexibility in the structuring of thelocal government through use of a charter. Home Rule Charter counties are allowed to pass ordinances and

November 2019County Assessor's Reference Manual for Washington State3resolutions on matters not addressed by the Washington Constitution, while counties not under such a systemmust rely on the Legislature to enact such matters.Standard Form of County Government (non-charter) Controlled by state laws Chapter 36.32 RCW 32 counties use this form of government County legislative authority is

(currently 3-9 members) and may include the elected county executive in some counties. Clallam County is a charter county with three county commissioners. Most charter counties without an elected county executive appoint a county administrator or manager. Generally within a county, "offices" are headed by elected officials, while "agencies .

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