2019 Chelan County Levy Audit Follow-up

The Chelan County Assessor (Assessor) provided the Chelan County Treasurer (Treasurer) and Chelan County Auditor (Auditor) with a copy of the “Chelan County 2018 Levies for 2019 Taxes” report as her certification of the tax roll on February 17, 2019. The report contains the individual taxing district’s levy rates and aggregate rate per tax code area.

The report does not contain a statement of certification, the date and the Assessor’s signature, or proof of receipt by the Treasurer. In addition, the document does not include the real and personal property assessed values and tax amounts for each taxing district levying property tax within the county. (RCW 84.52.080)

The abstract of the tax roll the Assessor provided to the Auditor did not contain the tax amounts for each taxing district levying property tax within the county.

The Assessor must take the following actions:

• Certify the tax roll to the Treasurer on or before January 15. The certification must include the following:
  • Language that states the Assessor is certifying the tax roll to the Treasurer. (RCW 84.52.080 lists a certification statement) o The Assessor’s signature and the date.
  • Proof of receipt by the Treasurer. (This could be accomplished by having the Treasurer sign the certification and the Assessor keeps a copy.)
  • Real and personal property assessed values, tax amounts, and levy rates for each taxing district levying property tax within the county. (The Certification of Levies Report, provided to the Department for the 2018 Levy Audit, includes this information.)
• Provide the Auditor with an abstract of the tax roll that includes the tax amounts for each taxing district levying property tax within the county.

Yes

To determine if the Assessor has met the requirement, the Department expects the Assessor to provide:

• A copy of the Assessor’s certification to the Treasurer of the tax roll, for the 2020 tax year.
• A copy of the abstract of the tax roll report provided to the Auditor, for the 2020 tax year.

The Assessor used the correct previous year’s levy amount, prior year’s levy rate, and highest lawful levy amount to calculate the Port of Chelan’s (Port) levy limitations, for the 2019 tax year.

The Assessor stated the Port chose not to levy for the underlevy amount, but did not provide supporting documents, such as correspondence with the district.

The Assessor did not calculate the City of Chelan (CC) statutory maximum levy rate correctly, for the 2019 tax year. The incorrect statutory maximum rate did not result in a levy error.

The statutory maximum rate for the CC must be calculated by beginning with $3.60, then subtracting the current year’s levy rates for the North Central Regional Library (NCRL) and Fire District No. 7 (FD7). This calculation must be completed every year.

The correct statutory maximum levy rate, for the 2019 tax year, is $2.3861034145. It is unlikely that this will be the statutory maximum rate for the 2020 tax year. The rate will only stay the same if the levy rates for the NCRL and FD7 do not change from the previous year.

The Assessor must take the following actions:

• Calculate the CC statutory maximum levy rate every year.
• Calculate the CC statutory maximum levy rate for the 2020 tax year as follows:
  • Determine the levy rates for FD7 and the NCRL, for the 2020 tax year.
  • Subtract the 2020 levy rates for FD7 and NCRL from $3.60. This is the statutory maximum levy rate for the CC, for the 2020 tax year.

Yes

To determine if the Assessor has met the requirement, the Department expects the Assessor to provide:

• A copy of the CC levy calculation worksheet, for the 2020 tax year.
• The Department will use the tax roll certification requested in Requirement No. 1 to determine the levy rates for FD7 and NCRL, for the 2020 tax year.

The 2018 Chelan County Levy Audit determined there was a $306.76 underlevy for the City of Wenatchee (CW), for the 2018 tax year. The Assessor stated the CW chose not to levy for the underlevy amount.

The Assessor used the correct previous year’s levy rate in the levy calculations, for the 2019 tax year, but did not use the correct highest lawful levy amount.

The Assessor did not calculate the CW statutory maximum levy rate correctly, for the 2019 tax year. The statutory maximum rate for the CW must be calculated by beginning with $3.60, subtracting the current year’s levy rates for the North Central Regional Library (NCRL) and Fire District No. 1 (FD1), then add $.225 for the fire fighters pension fund. This calculation must be completed every year.

The correct statutory maximum levy rate, for the 2019 tax year, is $2.1038054358. It is unlikely that this will be the statutory maximum rate for the 2020 tax year. The rate will only stay the same if the levy rates for the NCRL and FD1 do not change from the previous year.

The Assessor must take the following actions:

• Calculate the CW statutory maximum levy rate every year.
• Calculate the CW statutory maximum levy rate for the 2020 tax year as follows:
  • Determine the levy rates for FD1 and the NCRL, for the 2020 tax year.
  • Subtract the 2020 levy rates for FD1 and NCRL from $3.60, then add $.225 for the fire fighters pension fund. This is the statutory maximum levy rate for the CW, for the 2020 tax year.

Yes

To determine if the Assessor has met the requirement, the Department expects the Assessor to provide:

• A copy of the CW levy calculation worksheet, for the 2020 tax year.
• The Department will use the tax roll certification requested in Requirement No. 1 to determine the levy rates for FD1 and NCRL, for the 2020 tax year.

No

The Department requested the county legislative authority’s certification of budget requests. The Assessor provided the Department with Resolution No. 17, Certification of 2018 Levies for 2019 Tax, dated February 28, 2019. This document states it is prepared pursuant to RCW 84.52.080, the tax roll statute, and is certified by the Assessor to the county legislative authority. The document contains a listing of the taxing districts within Chelan County and the amount of funds levied by the Assessor.

The Assessor did not supply the Department with the county legislative authority’s certification of budget requests to her office as required in RCW 84.52.070.