The Great Tax Assessment Mess of 1887
Seattle and King County property owners find their tax rolls hopelessly entangled in errors, leaving public officials to question if the entire assessment should be scrapped.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
There is a general feeling of indignation and disgust among the people at the manner in which the assessment roll has been prepared. Property owners are complaining that their land has been taxed out of all proportion to its value, while that of others, in many instances, is passed over or taxed at a fraction of its true worth. There is nothing about it which could be described as even passable. A piece of property is valued ridiculously low, and such a thing as a fair valuation of a piece of property is no longer looked for. It has become a question whether the assessment has any merit at all, and many doubts are expressed as to whether the city or county will be able to collect their taxes. One individual who sold to the county the so-called 'absaroka' tract at the exorbitant value of one hundred dollars, and whose assessment appears on the rolls at a nominal sum, has managed to evade the affairs of the county for the time being. It is difficult to say who is to blame, but it is a heavy load of responsibility which will yet prove to be an expensive affair for the county. The city delinquent list will be as worthless as the county list. It would be in the interest of the county and city alike to throw aside the entire new assessment. The tangle in which the rolls are now involved is past all hope, and the complications which threaten to arise in consequence of these are endless.
“A piece of property is valued ridiculously low, and such a thing as a fair valuation of a piece of property is no longer looked for.”
The frustration over inequitable property assessments and the struggle to fund city services are perennial Seattle headaches. Just as in 1887, when residents looked at the 'worthless' assessment rolls with deep distrust, today's property tax debates continue to center on the fairness and accuracy of how our city values land amidst a rapidly shifting real estate market.
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