The tax bill is in the mail (almost)

 Homeowners and property owners in Washington County will be receiving their 2018 tax bills shortly in the mail.

 The county treasurer’s office printed 9,206 bills and is getting them ready for mailing. 

 By law, the property tax bills must be mailed by Nov. 26 this year, but county treasurer Sabrina Young said they will be mailed before that date.

 “We hope to have them in the mail by Nov. 9 or sooner,” she said.

 Property owners can pay tax bills in full or in two installments, with the first payment due by Dec. 20 to avoid late charges and interest. If the taxes are paid in two installments, the last day to pay the second half is June 20, 2019. 

 The county treasurer collects property taxes for taxing districts but does not set the property tax rate. The amount of property tax is based on the budget of taxing districts, such as city, county, fire district and school district. 

 Every year the county clerk’s office sends the taxing districts the assessed values of property once that has been determined by the county assessor. 

 Each taxing district approves a budget and sets a tax levy to cover the budget expenses and the cost of providing services. 

 State law doesn’t limit the increase in property taxes on an individual property but does limit the amount budgets for taxing districts can go up to 3 percent annually, plus a growth factor for new construction and annexation. 

 Some taxing district levies in the county went down this year, but property owners could still see an increase in their tax bill because the assessed value of their property went up.

 Washington County’s tax levy dropped this year compared to 2017. In 2017, the county levy collected $541.63 in property taxes on $100,000 in assessed property value.  

 In 2018, with a lower tax levy, the county will collect $508.52 on the same $100,000 of assessed value, a difference of $33.11.

 Some taxing districts in the county will collect more property taxes this year because voters passed bonds or levies. 

 The Cambridge Fire District, for example, will collect more property taxes this year to pay for a $700,000 bond that was approved by voters last year to pay for a new fire and ambulance facility. 

 The city of Cambridge property tax levy went up, while the tax levies in Midvale and Weiser went down.