County assessor meets with lawmakers

For the first time since he was appointed in January 2005, Spokane County Assessor Ralph Baker held a press conference Wednesday.

With the primary election just around the corner, Baker said he wanted to let citizens know that he had met with legislators earlier in the day to pass along taxpayer concerns.

The event was announced by Spokane County’s communications manager, Martha Lou Wheatley-Billeter, in a press release on Monday. She said the election was not part of the discussion when creating the release.

Baker said he would have held the chat with legislators even if the Sept. 19 primary weren’t looming. He’s met with them twice before since taking office, but this is the first time he’s held a press conference to talk about it.

“I’m hearing from seniors who are seeing their taxes increase faster than their income,” Baker said. “I’ve heard from the public, and part of my job is to relay to the Legislature what I’m hearing from the taxpayers.”

Baker’s Republican primary opponent, Spokane City Councilman Brad Stark, said Baker’s decision to hold the press conference “speaks to the ethics of the character involved.”

“If he wants to use public resources for apparent publicity during a campaign, that’s up to the voters to make an assessment and make judgment and take action if they see fit,” Stark said.

Fourteen lawmakers were invited to the meeting; four attended. Baker started the discussion with a flip chart explaining how property values affect taxes. He and lawmakers discussed ways to reduce property taxes for seniors, make changes to simplify business taxes on equipment and supplies, the outcome of a recent court ruling that threw out a law capping the amount local governments can raise taxes and other issues.

The state allows people who are at least 62 years old with household incomes under $35,000 to apply to the assessor’s office for a tax break.

Baker said rules requiring seniors to prove their income can be onerous. He suggested tossing the income requirement and making the exemptions based only on age.

Rep. John Ahern, R-Spokane, talked about his proposal to raise the income threshold to $40,000 and increase it annually based on inflation.

Baker and the lawmakers acknowledged that property tax relief for some would mean others would pay more. “One person’s ‘fair’ is not necessarily another person’s ‘fair,’ ” Baker said, adding he didn’t have a preference for how the laws should be changed.

“I only wanted to give ideas out to the legislators,” Baker said. “I implement the law. I don’t change it.”

Kevin Best, Baker’s chief deputy, said it was important to meet with legislators now in case Baker loses office. “If he’s not here after the election, at least he got to say, ‘Hey, this is my perspective,’ ” Best said.

Democratic candidate Judy Personett, who will run against the winner of the Baker-Stark race, said Baker should have gotten his message across long before the election.