Spokane Countys assessed property values have been climbing dramatically, bolstering the local tax base, but not everyone is applauding the riseindividual appeals of those valuations also have soared.


The countys total assessed value last year for tax bills sent out this year jumped a record $4.8 billion, or 18.5 percent, to just over $31 billion, assessors office data show. That overall valuation has rocketed up by 44 percent, from about $21.5 billion, just over the last five years.


Though the real estate market has cooled somewhat, it hasnt softened enough to put much of a dent in the total value of newly constructed buildings being added to the tax rolls. Assessor Ralph Baker says a report just completed by his office lists $1.035 billion in assessed new construction in the county over a 12-month period ending in Augustbarely off last years record $1.053 billion.


Were pleased. Thats two years in a row at $1 billion plus, Baker says. It bodes well for our community. Perhaps it indicates that weve been discovered and Spokane County is on the move.


The countys overall increased valuation creates, in effect, a larger pie that translates into lower levy rates for many properties, even though actual tax bills still may be higher for some because of the steep rise in the values of those properties and because of added collections in some tax districts for new voter-approved bond measures, he says. One of the things that happens with such a sharp countywide valuation rise, he says, is that high-end homes end up sucking up more of the tax load, he says.


The vast majority of levy rates are going down. In some cases, the actual tax bills are dropping, actually a fairly high percentage, Baker adds.


That isnt apparent from the number of appeals property owners have filed to challenge the assessed values the county has placed on their homes, buildings, or land. Appeals are up 27 percent this year over last year.


Baker sent out about 160,000 assessment notices this year, and the countys Board of Equalization has received nearly 1,900 appeals of property tax assessments for 2007 this year.


Excluding new construction and personal property, assessed property values in the county are up nearly 13 percent over 2006, when they rose nearly 16 percent over 2005, he says. The two years of increased values combined are so high that I dont find it surprising people are worried about their assessments going up, he says.


The 2007 assessed values will be used to calculate property taxes for 2008.


Baker says about one-third of the property assessment appeals are resolved before theyre heard by the Board of Equalization, a commissioner-appointed entity that has authority to adjust assessments.


We have no motivation to cheat anybody, Baker says. Our motivation is to get them all right.


Of the roughly 1,200 appellants who proceeded to the board last year, 17 prevailed, he says.


When that happens, its almost always because of something unusual, like an easement we werent aware of that affects property values, he says.


Baker contends, however, that most property owners who appeal their assessments do so because they assume, often mistakenly, that their tax bills will increase correspondingly to the increased assessed value of their property.


He notes also that state law limits annual property tax budget increases for most taxing districts to 1 percent, not including tax proceeds derived from new construction.


Any increases beyond 1 percent must be approved by voters, as occurred when city of Spokane residents approved a two-year Spokane levy lid lift to raise about $7 million to maintain police and fire services at 2005 levels and to keep neighborhood libraries open five days a week.


That action, which raised property taxes within the city by about 32 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value, expires this year.


As one example of how property tax rates actually have fallen, he says the property tax rate for Tax Code Area 10, which covers most of Spokane and includes assessments for county, city, emergency medical services, and state and Spokane Public Schools taxing districts, is $13.08 per $1,000 of assessed value. Thats down from a rate of $14.82 for 2006 and $15.83 for 2005, he says.


Before Bakers office can calculate 2008 property tax rates, it still has to calculate the total value of taxable personal property in the county, which includes office furniture, business equipment, and farm machinery, and it has to receive budgets from each of the 57 taxing districts in the county. Some of those districts overlap or combine to create 122 different tax code areas in all, he says.


Though the number of appeals is up dramatically this year, Baker says appeals total barely 1 percent of the assessments in both years. Last year, he sent out 150,000 notices, and about 1,500 appeals were filed with the Board of Equalization.


Baker says the countys appraisers use comparable sales prices to determine values of whole neighborhoods. He says values are recalculated annually, although actual property inspections are conducted on a six-year cycle.


The county assessors appraisal staff assesses residential and commercial property at fair market value for tax purposes. Baker says that since he became assessor in 2003, his office has raised the assessed-value-to-market- value ratio to about .94an optimum levelfrom .87, meaning it now is assigning values to properties that are closer to their actual market value rather than lagging behind.


He says he expects that the countys total assessed value this year will exceed $33.7 billion, which would be $2.7 billion over the 2006 figure.


Next years assessments also will reflect increased property values, although the rate of increase may be slowing, Baker says.


The median sales price for a home in Spokane County for 2007 through August was $186,000, up 8 percent from a median price of $172,000 in the year-earlier period, according to a market activity report compiled by the Spokane Association of Realtors.