The Tax Battle Over the Railroad Tracks
Walla Walla County commissioners face a recurring fiscal headache as state regulators override local tax assessments on railway property.
The board of county commissioners met this morning in the commissioners room at the hall of records and organized as a board of equalization by electing Commissioner Cornwell as chairman and Auditor Honeycutt as clerk of the board. The assessment rolls for 1903 were filed by Assessor Berryman. The board reduced the assessment of $5,280 per mile on the Washington and Columbia River Railway tracks to $4,800 to conform with last year's assessment, which was originally returned at $5,280 but reduced by the county board of equalization. The state board of equalization had previously raised the assessment to the original $5,280 figure, which forced the county to pay the state the $511.87 difference in taxes. The county now fears that if the state board raises the assessment again this year, the county will once again be forced to cover the deficit from its own funds.
“If the state board raises the assessment again this year the county will again be compelled to pay that amount into the state fund for the railway company.”
Local governments still struggle with the balance of power between municipal autonomy and state-level regulatory mandates. The tension over how to properly assess high-value utility and rail corridors remains a central friction point in Washington state fiscal policy.
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