Memo Mason Cotty Te: Amy Clancy, KIRO News From: Melody Peterson, Mason County Assessor Date: 2/1/2011 Re: Assessment Process & Property Taxes Mason County is currently on a four-year reassessment cycle, physically inspecting and updating one quarter of the county's taxable property value each year. Mason County's north boundary line is shared with Kitsap County, which is on annual update, revaluating the entire county every year with inspection every six years. By Washington State Law, the date of appraisal is January 1 of the assessment year. The assessment year for this area was 2010. Sales occurring prior to January 1 are used to determine an estimate of market value, which remains the property's assessed value for the following four years without regard to either increases or decreases in real estate market prices. During an increasing real estate market, assessed values may be below current market, while in a deciining market, assessed values may be above current market. The 2010 assessment area involved approximately 14,000 taxable parcels, all of which were updated during the assessment cycle. Enclosed is a state-issued informational pamphlet explaining the overall real property assessment al tion process for Washington's 39 counties. Me kila~ Melody P¢terson Enc. © Page 1