Higher property taxes are in the mail

Sandy, Boring, mountain residents will see increase of 26-28 percent

By Jim Hart

The Sandy Post, Oct 20, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (7 Reader comments)

When the mail arrives Wednesday or Thursday this week, area landowners might be scratching their heads.

They’ll be looking at their property tax bill and wondering why it’s so high.

Most Post readers will see a 26-28 percent spike since last year; however, taxes for Sandy city residents will rise only 23 percent.

That’s a small consolation when Measure 50 was designed to limit the annual assessed value increases to 3 percent on property that did not undergo remodeling or improvements.

Property value down, taxes up

These new tax hikes are likely to raise the ire of local landowners, especially when the market value of all property dropped an average of 9.3 percent in the 2008 calendar year. Clackamas County Tax Assessor Bob Vroman said the value of residential housing was reduced by an even larger percentage.

“Residential property was reduced more than the average countywide,” he said Monday in a telephone interview. “Effectively, the value of single family residences was reduced 10-15 percent.”

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