Local tax rates drop slightly ... actual bills not so much

With the assessed value of properties going up, the tax rates per $1,000 of assessed valuation are dipping slightly for La Conner area home owners still paying property tax to the Skagit County Treasurer.

At Monday night’s La Conner School Board meeting, district finance director Bonnie Haley distributed the latest assessment figures from the county Assessor’s Office.

It shows that for school taxes, the rate will drop about 15 cents, from about $6.61 per $1,000 to $6.46.

Skagit County Assessor Dave Thomas said the new rates were certified on Monday, and the information should be posted on the county’s website later this week.

As in past years, county residents will receive their 2016 tax bills around Valentine’s Day. Besides the school district funding, the tax bills also include assessments for various county agencies and the state.

In the Town of La Conner, where the town council has not raised municipal taxes for two years, the new aggregate tax rate shows the largest drop locally.

The overall rate assessed to residents in La Conner town limits last year was $14.00 per $1,000. For 2016 it is projected to be $13.59, for a drop of 41 cents.

But because many people saw their home values increased again this year, the lower rate won’t necessarily translate to a lower tax bill.

For example, the Third Street home of La Conner Mayor Ramon Hayes is $47,900 nicer this year, according to the Assessor’s Office. In 2015, when his house was valued at $350,100, his property tax bill was $4,903.67.

In 2016 Hayes’ property tax bill will be $5,408.82 because the assessed value of his house is now $398,000.

On fee simple land on the Swinomish Reservation, a home with an assessed value that increased by more than $40,000 will also see a tax increase next year, despite a 15-cent drop in the rate per $1,000 from 14.28 to 14.13.

Tax on that home, which is privately owned, will be more than $500 higher next year under the projected rate.

Still, some homes on Channel Drive and in the Pleasant Ridge neighborhood will have slightly smaller property tax bills this year. That’s because their assessed values did not go up.

The tax rate on most homes in those neighborhoods is projected to go from about $14.50 to about $14.34 per $1,000 of assessed valuation. That means property tax on a $300,000 home would be about $48 lower this year.