Tax bill boost averages 6.5% in King County

The average King County homeowner will pay about 6.5 percent more in property taxes in 2008, mostly because of voter-approved increases and creation of new taxing districts, Assessor Scott Noble reported Thursday.

Taxes could have gone higher if more jurisdictions had taken advantage of a state Supreme Court ruling that briefly allowed larger increases without voter approval.

But 55 of the county's 84 tax districts with non-voter-approved levies kept this year's tax increase within the 1 percent limit imposed by Initiative 747. The Supreme Court struck the initiative down in November, and some jurisdictions took larger tax bites before the Legislature reimposed the 1-percent cap three weeks later.

The Port of Seattle raised its levy by 7.5 percent, not counting a separate increase for new construction, the largest increase for an existing jurisdiction of its size.

Countywide, voter-approved tax increases and creation of new tax districts pushed taxes up the most. "I think today's citizen can look in the mirror and say 'I voted for it overall.' That, and new districts, is pretty much the story," Noble said.

Voters approved 24 of 31 tax measures in 2007, including 13 permanent "lid lifts." Lid lifts allow a tax district to increase the regular levy above the 1 percent cap.

County voters agreed to increase the emergency-services levy by 66 percent and they more than doubled the parks levy. Redmond voters raised city taxes 44 percent for fire, police and school safety, while Auburn, Algona and Pacific voters approved taxes for a new regional fire authority.

Not all the increases were voter-approved. King County established a ferry district that will cost the owner of a $400,000 home $22 this year, and a flood-control district that will cost the same homeowner $40.

Total 2008 tax collections, including new construction, will rise 8.2 percent to $3.2 billion — considerably more than the 2007 increase of 5.9 percent and the 2006 increase of 4.5 percent.

Snohomish County is raising total taxes 6.3 percent to $886 million, said Chief Deputy Assessor Linda Hjelle. Only three jurisdictions increased non-voter-approved taxes beyond 1 percent, and the county didn't raise its general-purpose tax.

Tax increases vary dramatically from one tax district to another. King County's highest average tax payments by school district — and the largest dollar-amount tax increase — is on Mercer Island, where the owner of the typical $1.1 million home will see a $558 tax increase to $7,952.

Skykomish property owners will continue to have the lowest tax burden in King County, $1,292 on the average $148,949 house. But mostly due to a voter-approved school operating levy, that tax bill is $245 higher than last year and, at 23.4 percent, represents the biggest percentage increase. In Seattle, the owner of the average $478,848 home will pay $4,160, an increase of $183 or 4.6 percent.

Keith Ervin: 206-464-2105 or kervin@seattletimes.com