State report identifies needs for assessor's office

A review of the state of the Wahkiakum County Assessor's Office has identified a list of shortcomings that county officials are trying to address.

Assessor Bill Coons, who took office last January, asked the Department of Revenue (DOR) to evaluate the office and its operations. The department issued its final report in early August.

"The purpose of this review by the department is to provide the Wahkiakum County Assessor and county legislative authority the information needed to successfully perform the duties associated with the various property tax programs," the report says in its opening. "Though most of the responsibility for property tax administration falls upon the assessor, there are some duties that are the responsibility of the county legislative authority."

The report states that the department identified 23 requirements and 16 recommendations directed toward improving the administration of property tax programs in the county. The items identified may be specific to the assessor's duties, the county legislative authority’s duties, or they may have shared components of responsibility.

The first category, requirements, is of the greatest urgency for effective administration by the assessor and the county legislative authority, the report said, "A change is required to adhere to the law."

The second category, recommendations, requires the attention of the assessor and the county legislative authority.

For the items listed as requirements, the report says, the assessor and/or county commission must make changes in procedure to comply with law.

Coons said he and his staff have been working hard to bring the office into compliance with the law.

"I have a plan," he said. He has started to get the office close to the schedule for issuing notices and reports. He has started working on the new construction listings that weren't completed in 2010. Current Use listings will follow.

"Current Use is a problem that has always needed attention from this office," he said.

Coons will meet with DOR officials September 7 in Olympia to go over the report and discuss solutions. Commissioner Lisa Marsyla has said she wants to attend the meeting.

The report identifies a reduction in force as one of the chief reasons the office has fallen behind in meeting its legal requirements.

The office experienced a curtailment in staff hours at the same time it was converting to a new computer program identified as PACS.

" The assessor’s staff indicated that prior to 2009 they were able to process all conveyance documents for straight-across transfers of property timely," the reports says on Page 24. "A lag in processing ownership transfers began in the fall of 2009 with 1. The conversion to PACS, and 2., a 50 percent reduction in work hours (beginning in October 2008) for the staff member responsible for processing transfers of ownership."

Both Coons and his predecessor, Sulema Zerr, have lobbied the county commission for a restoration of staff time, but commissioners have resisted, citing a trend of tight revenue for government and being fair to other departments which had staffing cuts.

Among the comments in the 65-page report were these:

--Reporting to officials: "The assessor failed to timely submit required reports to the department, county officials, and boards during the 2010 reporting year. Reporting is not optional, but a duty of office.

"The consequences of the delays were: The assessment roll was not formally closed during 2010, nor was the BOE formally notified of roll closure and directed to proceed with hearing petitions.

"The calculation and setting of levies was made without certified values, which potentially jeopardizes the assessments and put the county at risk for inaccuracies and public loss of confidence in the results. The department was required to estimate the county’s real property ratio for 2010 (while legally permissible, estimating the ratio can seriously impact the results of a county’s ratio which is used to calculate the state school levy and equalization of utility assessments)."

--Personal property: "All personal property subject to taxation must be listed and assessed every year by the Assessor.

"For the 2011 assessment year (AY), personal property listings (pre-lists) had not been mailed as of the date of our review. The assessor stated the delay in mailing was caused by the conversion to a new computer system during 2010, which led to half of the 2010 AY listings not getting entered into the new system, as well as the office being short-staffed."

Property segregations: "The Assessor is required to maintain a complete list of all lands or lots subject to taxation."

This is very technical work, Coons said, and it takes about four hours to do a segregation.

"You have to know how to read legal descriptions and understand how to use the new software," he said.

Current use: "The assessor is required to collect the necessary data to appraise farm and agricultural land accurately.

"It is unclear what information has been collected in prior years. Historically, property owners have not recorded leases of farm and agricultural land. Lease data has not been requested directly from the property owners."