County Services
Determining property values and assessing property taxes is the responsibility of the Assessor. As you might imagine, it’s not the most popular job in the county. It is, however, one of the most important. Property taxes help fund our:
- Emergency medical and other essential services
- Fire and police protection
- Libraries
- Parks
- Roads
- Schools
Even so, paying property taxes is probably not one of your favorite activities. That’s understandable. It can, however, be a little easier if you know what you get in return for your tax dollars. The revenues collected from property taxes are the largest source of income and provide almost half the revenue in Asotin County’s general fund. Other sources of income range from receipts for sales taxes to court fines.
Cost of Government
The cost of state and local government determines how much property tax will be levied. These include the operating costs of county government, as well as other taxing districts such as:
- Fire
- Hospital
- Library
- Port
- Sewer
Property taxes also go to pay off bonds for the capital costs and expenses of voter approved projects such as schools, emergency medical services (EMS), etc.
Distribution
Property taxes are distributed to a wide range of services throughout Asotin county. A portion also goes to the state. Within Asotin County, schools, road districts and emergency medical services are major recipients. County services also are funded, including:
- Department of Public Works
- Health district
- Law enforcement and jails
- Offices of the:
- Assessor
- Auditor
- Clerk
- Prosecuting Attorney
- Treasurer
- Superior and district courts
Asotin County Breakdown
Following is a breakdown of the county services paid for by property taxes in Asotin County:
- Most of the property taxes collected go to schools, and a large portion goes to the state
- 21.73% of property tax dollars go to county government
- Of that, 5.37% goes to county road maintenance and construction
- The remaining 16.36% goes to the county’s general fund to pay for the services mentioned previously