King County Launches eAppeals, Easy Online

Way to Research & Appeal Property ValuesFor Immediate ReleaseJune 17, 2013Contact: John Arthur Wilson King County Dept. of Assessments (206) 263-2260Now you can file a property tax appeal from the comfort of your home with just a few mouse clicks. King County eAppeals, (www.kingcounty.gov/eappeals) allows taxpayers to research, compare and file a property value appeal all from their computer or tablet device – saving property owners time and money and streamlining the entire process. The new system will be online June 10.”We’ve been determined to make the property value appeal process easier, more informative, and more transparent to taxpayers,” said King County Assessor Lloyd Hara. “With the launch of King County eAppeals, that day has arrived.””King County eAppeals adds a simple, paperless way to appeal one’s property valuation,” said King County Executive Dow Constantine. “This new efficiency is a great improvement in customer service.””This is a perfect example of the different branches of King County government all working together to help the taxpayer,” said King County Councilmember Kathy Lambert, a leading proponent of King County’s eGov initiatives. “It is great to see the Assessor, Board of Appeals and Equalization, Council and Executive pulling together to make appealing your property value so much more customer-friendly.””This is great example of using technology to benefit county taxpayers,” said County Council Chair Larry Gossett. “Streamlining what has been a cumbersome procedure is a strong step in increasing confidence in the appeals process.””King County eAppeals is a major milestone and will make it easier for citizens to appeal their property taxes from their home,” said County Council Vice Chair Jane Hague. “Since it will also assist citizens in knowing their options when deciding whether or not to appeal-it also has a benefit as an educational tool.””We are confident that eAppeals will make it easier for taxpayers to determine whether or not to file an appeal of their property values, provide them the comparable sale data they need, and give them an easy, electronic way to file and track their case,” said Helen Kay, chair of the King County Board of Equalization (BOE).King County eAppeals allows taxpayers to research and file a property assessment appeal from start to finish. In Washington State, taxpayers can not appeal their property tax bill. Instead, they can appeal the property assessment that the property tax bill is based upon. Using the eAppeals online service, taxpayers can look up their own assessed value (used in setting property taxes), and then search for sales of comparable properties through a series of user adjustable criteria. This will allow the taxpayer to compare their assessed value (fair market value) to that of similar sold properties, helping them to decide whether an appeal would be worthwhile.Similar to some online income tax reporting systems, special tools allow a taxpayer to calculate what their proposed value would mean in terms of a potential property tax refund. From there, the taxpayer can set up an eAppeals account, pick their comparable sale properties, add any back- up information, and file their appeal – all online. By creating an account, taxpayers can then track the progress of their appeal and receive electronic notifications of when either, new documents are available, or their hearing is scheduled.The new online system is significantly more taxpayer friendly. The existing paper-based appeal system can require lengthy research and document coordination by the taxpayer. With eAppeals, this research, coordination, and documentation can be accomplished electronically, saving taxpayers time and effort. Increasing the convenience of the appeal process advances King County’s interest that the assessed value of each property is as fair and accurate as possible so every taxpayer is paying no more, nor less than they are supposed to by law. Using King County eAppeals is free. The online service will save King County money in a variety of ways, including: * Improving efficiency for BOE staff by reducing the need to manually enter appeal information into the database for each petition.* Improving efficiency for Department of Assessment (DOA) staff by providing more information electronically on BOE decisions. * Reducing the number of paper documents, saving money on paper and on storage space and management of paper documents. * Reducing postage needed for mailing two sets of paper documents. Hara said King County eAppeals should be a win-win-win for the taxpayer and the Assessor’s office and the BOE. “Taxpayers can see if it truly is worth them filing an appeal and far more easily track the progress on their appeal,” Hara noted. “For our staff, it should make responding to appeals more efficient and help us get better information from a taxpayer early in the process.””Taxpayers are always asking what data was used to set my property value,” added Neal Cook, clerk to the Board of Equalization, “King County eAppeals let’s them search for comparable sale properties and even personally adjust the criteria to see if it all makes sense. This is a great step towards greater transparency in the entire appeal process.””We get thousands of phone calls every year from taxpayers trying to figure out how – and if it is worth – filing an appeal of their property values,” said Ombudsman Amy Calderwood, who supervises the King County Tax Advisor office. “The new online system really increases the transparency of the whole property tax system and offers taxpayers a really useful set of new tools.””This shows how technology can increase efficiency, improve customer service and lower costs long-term,” said Bill Kehoe, King County’s Chief Information Officer. “We’re able to automate and streamline the business process, give taxpayer’s 24/7 access to filing an appeal, and save money on paper, photocopying and postage. This is what One King County teamwork can deliver.”The DOA technology team, lead by Hoang Nguyen and developers Kevin Dickie and Mai Trinh, built King County eAppeals, with support from King County Information Technology project manager Juliette Peze and business analyst Barb DeLauter.