Addressing Spokane tax critiques
The March 26 letter to the editor from Sharon Welter contending I am unfairly targeting taxpaying homeowners is not fair.
First, Washington state law requires the mailing of only one statement per year. The cost of a second optional mailing could be as high as $100,000. Furthermore, Spokane County is the first county in the state of Washington to allow partial payments of any amount on current and past due property tax. That is because legislation I championed in 2013 left it up to the discretion of the county treasurer on how payments are collected (interest and late penalties still apply). This has been a win-win practice for both the taxpayer and the county.
Rob Chase, Spokane County treasurer
Spokane