The AssessorвЂ™s Office determines the next yearвЂ™s taxes at the end of each calendar year by calculating the levy rate. They will translate into additional money for many of the taxing districts, since new construction isnвЂ™t factored into their budgets that are used to set the levy rates paid by property owners. The added valuations from a total of $880.5 million in new construction applicable to the 2019 tax year-the third highest total on record, trailing only 20-are reflected in statements that the county treasurerвЂ™s office began sending out last week.

вЂњWe could not have maintained that pace all of last year and through this year.вЂќ Some employees in the office were working overtime and taking comp time last year to try to whittle down the new-construction backlog, but they dealt with it well вЂњbecause they saw the light at the end of the tunnel with more employees coming on,вЂќ Konis says. The approved staffing additions вЂњratcheted down the pressure on the staff quite a bit,вЂќ says Konis, a longtime AssessorвЂ™s Office employee who took over the department after defeating Leonard Christian in last NovemberвЂ™s election.

It managed to complete the work, albeit belatedly, averting a scenario that could have left the countyвЂ™s taxing districts unable to benefit fully from that sharp rise in building activity, says Assessor Tom Konis.ДЇurthermore, with the county commission-approved hiring of a few new employees as part of the officeвЂ™s $4.9 million budget for 2019, the office should be better positioned to keep up this year, even if the overall new construction volume matches last yearвЂ™s pace, he says. A big surge in new construction last year left the Spokane County AssessorвЂ™s Office feeling alarmingly under water in its efforts to process a huge backlog of projects so they could be added to the countyвЂ™s property tax rolls.

Spokane county assessor site