PORT TOWNSEND — After recommendations from the assessor and treasurer, the Jefferson County commissioners declined to extend the time in which property owners can collect money owed them due to a manifest error in the description of their property.
Currently, refund requests originating from an error in property valuation must be filed within three years.
Jefferson County Assessor Jeff Chapman and Treasurer Stacie Prada both said the allowable time should not be extended, saying it leads to inconsistencies and the data may be hard to prove.
“We shouldn’t have to spend a lot of time second-guessing the past,” Chapman said. “The more you go back, the less clear everything is.”
The state Legislature passed a bill in 2015 that allows correction and refunds for a period longer than three years but only if the county provides a structure for doing so.
Chapman and Prada made their recommendation at Monday’s regular meeting, and the commissioners unanimously agreed.
The action pertains to assessments made outside of the valuation process, such as an incorrect description of house size or property lines, according to the bill.
It isn’t a big issue in Jefferson County, Chapman said; his office deals with about three such cases a year.
Prada and Chapman both said property owners are responsible for determining the veracity of assessment data at the time of issue and that three years is the maximum time in which errors should be corrected.
“My job is to assess property at 100 percent of market value,” Chapman said.
“We are not surveyors and rely on the property owners to supply correct information.”
Prada said the issuance of such refunds “can create a domino effect.”
“If there is a refund, it would need to come out of where the tax money went to in the first place, like schools, libraries and hospitals,” she said.
A refund could also modify the money earned, which would require refiling that year’s income tax, she said.
Chapman said that because of his small staff, he doesn’t have the ability to precisely examine all the data to determine whether a property line or a house size is reflected correctly.
“I don’t want to spend a lot of time dickering about what kind of property change occurred five or six or seven years ago,” he said.
“Most people know in their heads what their property is worth. If an assessment is too high or too low, they can appeal it at any time.”
Added Prada: “It is the duty of the taxpayer to review these documents and let us know if there’s an issue.”
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
