What the State Found

The Department of Revenue’s 2025 Island County Levy Audit, published in May 2026, found that Island County collected millions of dollars more than the state certified - the second such error in three years. A Special Notice was issued which states that state school levies are excluded from the correction process the Assessor’s office used, and that the resulting multi-million dollar shortfall becomes delinquent tax added to the 2030 levy.  

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In the words of the Department of Revenue:

"The Assessor’s reduction of the 2025 tax year levy amount is not supported by law. It is also not providing the correct amount of refund to the taxpayers who paid the incorrect amount of taxes for the 2024 tax year. For example, any new construction added to the 2024 assessment roll for tax collection in 2025 is seeing a property tax reduction for the 2025 tax year when they were not subject to taxation for the year in which the levy error occurred, 2024 tax year."

In its audit, DOR found six areas where the Assessor’s Office did not adhere to the law. 

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