The Assessor's office taxed Michael Keith for a barn that belonged to his neighbor. They taxed the neighbor, too, so the county was double-dipping on the same 960 square-foot barn. The County Assessor says it was a clerical error. The fact is, no one may have caught the error if Mr. Keith wasn't so concerned about his skyrocketing property taxes. That concern caused him to check out the Assessor's website (you'll find it in the Two on Your Side section of krem.com under "Consumer Links). Check out your own property and see if the County has your information listed correctly. I found a mistake on my listing. It's probably not big enough to reduce my taxes, but it's a mistake nonetheless.
Should you appeal your valuation? The Washington Department of Revenue sent Two on Your Side a document, "2004 Comparison of County Assessor Statistics." A DOR spokesperson explained,

"Note that the percentage of appeals filed in Spokane County was a
little higher than the statewide average, 0.48% of all properties revalued
compared to 0.45% statewide. The absolute number of appeals is up quite a
bit, however, from 2003 to 2004, 548 vs. 903, and that may be a result of
higher assessments this year."

If you do appeal your property value to the Board of Equalization, let me know what happens. 2007 Property tax bills in Spokane County get mailed February 14th (yep, Valentine's Day).

-Dawn Picken