MOUNT VERNON, Wash. Skagit County's tax collector says he doesn't have enough money to collect all the taxes, and that means others could get stuck paying more than their fair share.
Working with five fewer people than just two years ago, Skagit County Tax Assessor Don Munks says his office simply didn't have the time or the resources to collect all of the county's property taxes this year.
The situation leaves about $100 million in new construction off the tax rolls and between 71,000 and 160,000 out of county coffers.
We just ran out of time Munks said. It was a lack of employees. We just ran out of time.
That means homeowners like Henry Patterson could very well have to dig deeper to pay their property taxes next time around. Without all that money from new homes to pay for county services, the burden on Patterson and nearly everyone else will be greater. Exactly how much, though, remains unclear.
The value of our house has gone down and the taxes have gone up and they're gonna continue to go up. And all the services along with it, water sewer they're all gonna go up , Patterson said.
Hiring just one part-time worker for $10,000 to $20,000 could have recouped most if not all of the lost money, Munks said.
Who knows what we won't pick up if we don't get the help we need, he wonders.
The money is gone and won't be coming back to Skagit County. Munks says he hopes to find a way to get some money and hopefully be able to collect all the taxes that are due next year.
Skagit County is operating with a 12 to 15 percent reserve in its budget right now.
