(The Center Square) – Property owners in Snohomish County will see their typical levy rate increase in 2024 as a result of 85% of 2023 ballot measures being approved by voters last year.
According to the Snohomish County Assessor’s Office, the typical levy rate in 2023 was $7.6109 per $1,000 of assessed value, while the 2024 typical levy rate increased to $8.2288. This means the homeowner of a median valued home of $680,000 is expected to pay a total of approximately $5,595 in property taxes this year.
The increase in tax levy rates is a result of county voters approving 11 out of 13 property tax measures on the ballot in 2023. Out of the 13 measures, five were fire district levies, another five were approved for a city and fire districts EMS levies, and one was approved for a school district levy.
Homeowners in the City of Brier will see taxes increase 2.6%, while homeowners in the Mountlake Terrace area will see a 7% increase. The assessor’s office said the increase in taxes is due to the cities annexing into the South County Regional Fire Authority for its fire services.
Notably, home values in Marysville decreased an average of 5%, but taxes are increasing an average of 26.6%. That is the highest tax rate increase among all cities in the county. This is mainly due to voters approving a school levy of $1.67 per $1,000 of assessed home value.
Despite the typical levy rate increase, the Snohomish County Assessor’s Office estimated that the total taxable assessed value decreased from $219 billion in 2023 to $212 billion in 2024 for tax purposes.
Out of the $1.7 billion being collected in property taxes in 2024, local school districts are to receive the highest portion with 35.6%, followed by state schools at 27.3%. Two types of property tax levies support the state school system: special or excess levies approved by voters for a specified school district and the state school levy paid by all Washington property owners for public schools.
