FAQs

Board of Equalization

  • The Board is wholly separate and apart from Assessor's Office. They are comprised of three County residents appointed by the Garfield County Board of Commissioners for three-year terms. Board members are salaried for the days they are in hearing sessions. The Board is governed by the state Department of Revenue as supported by RCW 84.08.020 and 84.08.060. The department assists property owners with procedural information for those who wish to appeal the assessor's valuation placed on their property.

  • State law requires the Assessor to value all taxable property at 100% of its true and fair market value, according to the highest and best use of the property. Market value is the amount of money that a willing and unobligated buyer is willing to pay a willing and unobligated seller. The Assessor values real property using one or more acceptable appraisal methods: the market or sales comparison method, the cost approach, an income capitalization approach for income-producing property, or any combination of the three approaches.

  • File copies of completed petition forms with the BOE. Petition forms are available from the BOE or Assessor, or downloaded from this web site. There is no charge for filing an appeal.

  • Petitions must be received by the BOE on or before July 1st of the assessment year or within thirty (30) days after a change of value notice. Under certain circumstances a petition may be accepted if it qualifies for a Request for Reconvene.

  • A properly completed petition must include specific reasons why the property owner believes that the Assessor's valuation is not correct. Arguments such as the amount of tax, assessed value of other properties, percentage in which the assessment increased, personal hardship and other matters unrelated to market value cannot be considered by the Board.

  • Acceptable evidence includes, but is not limited to contractor estimates of cost to cure; letters or documents from government agencies and/or experts regarding development limitations; deeds describing easements that impact value; appraisal documents; excise documents of property sale; photos; and maps showing access limitations, etc.

  • Because State law requires that all property be valued at 100% of market value, sales of comparable properties are the best indicator of market value. The BOE must use the standard of comparable sales to make their decision. Therefore, it is important to include comparable sales information in your appeal. Information regarding sales of comparable properties may be obtained through personal research, local realtors, appraisers, or at the county assessor's office.

  • Comparable properties do not have to exactly match your property. Look for properties that are most similar, then note their differences and adjust the value of the other property to reflect those differences. For example, if your property has an obscured view, and the only similar property that sold has a much better view, discount the sale price to the amount you believe someone would be willing to pay for the lesser view. If your property has deteriorated conditions that would make it difficult to sell, provide contractor estimates of the "cost to cure" those conditions. Photos are particularly effective support for arguments regarding condition. Additional evidence, above and beyond that required for complete petition, may be submitted up to seven business days prior to your hearing.

  • After the petition is accepted, the Assessor is giving a chance to review your arguments and respond. If they agree to change the value they will contact you with a stipulation for you to sign. If not, the BOE clerk will schedule a hearing and notify you at least three weeks in advance by mail of the hearing date and time.

  • The hearing is an informal review where property owners may represent themselves without an attorney. You and the Assessor's representative will have the opportunity to give oral testimony and review your previously submitted arguments and documentary evidence. Each party may question the other and rebut evidence.

    When formulating arguments and gathering evidence, it is important to keep in mind that, by law, the Assessor is presumed to be correct. The burden of proof is on you to show that the Assessor's determination is incorrect. Evidence must be "clear, cogent and convincing."

  • The BOE has the authority to raise, lower or sustain the Assessor's determination.

  • Decisions are typically mailed within two weeks of the hearing, unless the case has some unusual complexities that need more time to consider.

  • Either the Appellant or the Assessor may appeal a BOE decision to the State Board of Tax Appeals. An appeal must be filed with the State Board within thirty (30) calendar days of the mailing date of the local Board's decision. Forms are available in the BOE office or may be obtained from the Board of Tax Appeals.

  • Pay your property taxes when due. After your hearing and the finalization of the BOE's decision, the County Treasurer will notify you of the appropriate adjustments in your tax responsibility or refunds.

    For more property tax information visit:

    http://dor.wa.gov/content/findtaxesandrates/propertytax/default.aspx

Building

  • Yes. You can find the permit documents for these types of activities here.

  • Building permits are valid as long as the permitted work begins within 180 days after the date the permit is issued and is not suspended or abandoned for more than 180 days after it has commenced.

  • The amount of time it takes to distribute builiding permits differs on a case-by-case basis. Time to process the required documents for your building permit depends upon the complexity of your building project.

  • You can find information on the Fee Schedule here.

    • 2012 International Building Code
    • 2012 International Residential Code (for one- and two-family dwellings and multiple single-family dwellings (townhouses) and their accessory structures. The dwellings cannot be more than three stories in height and must have a seperate means of egress).
    • 2012 International Mechanical Code
    • 2012 International Fire Code
    • 2012 International Plumbing Code
    • Garfield County Public Works, 19th and Arlington, Pomeroy, WA (509) 843-1301
    • Garfield County Health District, 121 South 10th Street, Pomeroy, WA (509) 843-3412
    • Garfield County Sheriff's Department, 789 Main Street, Pomeroy, WA (509) 843-3494

    Also, you can find the Mission Statements of these agencies here.

  • If you are an owner or authorized agent who intends to....

    • Construct, erect, alter, repair, move, or demolish a building or structure
    • Change the occupancy of a building or structure
    • Erect, install, enlarge, alter, repair, remove, convert or replace any electrical, gas, mechanical, or plumbing system

    ...within Garfield County but outside city limits, you need to fill out a Building Permit.

    See Do I Need a Building Permit Page for more information.

    • You can find information online: here.
    • Visit Garfield County Public Works located in 19th and Arlington.

  • There are two ways to obtain a building permit in Garfield County:

    • You can find Building Permit Process information and application online here.
    • *Note that you must print out the form and submit the completed application in person at Garfield County Pubic Works.
    • You can also visit Garfield County Pubic Works located on 19th and Arlington Street and obtain the application in person.

    Submit Applications Monday thru Thursday between 7:00am- 4:30pm.

Form

  • You can download the form, "Public Records Request" call and we can email

Public Records

  • Yes. Click here to download a copy of the Garfield County Public Records Request form. You may also stop by our office at 789 Main Street in Pomeroy.

Recording

  • No, we do not provide blank documents or forms.

  • Original birth and death records after 1907 are maintained by the Regional Health District, Vital Statistics Office at (360)236-4313. There are only few original records beginning with 1886 through 1907 available in the recording department. 

    You can also obtain a death certificate by clicking on the following link Vital Records

  • Yes, effective August 1, 2005 the recording department will record the national form with the standard document fee.

  • Please contact the Clerks Office (509) 843-3731.

  • The recording office records Real Estate documents, liens, military discharges, maps and surveys. Copies of these documents are available for a fee. We also issue marriage licenses.

  • Effective July 25, 2021, the marriage license fee is $36.00. We can only accept checks or cash. At this time, we are unable to process credit or debit cards.

    Applicants must be 18 years of age and provide a current picture ID, such as a Driver's License, State ID card, Military ID, or Passport. The ceremony must be performed between three and 60 days after the date of issuance. The person performing the ceremony must be a judge, a retired judge, or an ordained minister. You may contact a District Court judge at 509-843-1002.

    You may obtain a license at 789 Main Street, Pomeroy WA Garfield County Courthouse. We are open Monday through Friday 8:30 am to 5:00pm, excluding holidays.

    To obtain a copy of a Certificate of Marriage between 1900-2003 you can obtain the copy at our office or digitalarchives.wa.gov.

Search Tips and Tricks

  • Yes.  The website indexes web pages as well as PDFs, Microsoft Office documents, and text documents.

  • No.  By default, the search results will show matches for any word within the phrase.  In this example, you would receive results for all web pages and documents that contained either the word alarm or the word permit or both.

    In order to search on an exact phrase, enclose your search phrase in quotations.  The search results for "alarm permit" will show matches for that exact phrase.

  • Yes.   You can exclude words by using the minus sign (-).   In order to find the results of all pages that have alarm in the result but not permit, you would search for alarm -permit.