VALE – Total property tax collections in Malheur County went up nearly 10% from 2022, reflecting new property coming onto the tax rolls in Malheur County.
Tax bills went out last month and the first installment is due this month. The total assessed value of taxable property in Malheur County for 2023 was $3.009 billion, up from $2.736 billion in 2022, according to figures from the Malheur County assessor’s office.
Malheur County sent out 20,000 tax bills, according to Assessor Dave Ingram.
Ingram said the uptick in manufactured homes in Malheur County and subdivisions in the surrounding areas, along with commercial properties, saw the most significant tax increases this year, with an across-the-board 3% increase in assessed value when the assessor’s office reappraised properties this year by statute.
Yet, the construction of new manufactured homes and subdivisions means more properties share the tax load, reducing the overall tax bill for others, according to figures from the assessor’s office.
In Oregon, property taxes are limited by two laws passed in the 1990s. The measures cap the total tax rate applied to any individual property and the growth in assessed values. The maximum assessed value cannot increase more than 3% each year unless there are changes to the property, such as a new home or an improvement to the house or property.
With that, according to figures from the county assessor’s office, the total taxes billed for 2023 is $36.8 million, up from $35.1 million in 2022.
Figures from the assessor’s office show Ontario’s tax code No. 61 with the highest rate, $18.21 per $1,000 in assessed property value.
Ontario taxpayers fund 9 taxing districts. The city takes the biggest cut, getting $4.83 per $1,000 in value, while the Ontario School District claims just under $4. Malheur County gets $2.58 followed by the Ontario Rural Road District, which gets $2.27.
An Ontario home with an assessed value of $195,859 will pay $2,933.63, down about $10 from the year before. Last year, the assessed value was $190,155 and the taxes were $2,943.63.
In Nyssa, the total tax rate dropped from $17.64 to $17.53, due to the absence of a school bond this year.
McDermitt, an unincorporated community spanning the Nevada-Oregon border, has the lowest tax rate in the county at just under $6.
In Malheur County, 63 tax codes are getting the taxpayer funding, according to Ingram.
He said there were a handful of school districts that saw a loss of less than $1,000 in taxes this year due to a slight decrease in value. Among them, Ingram said, were the McDermott, Ironside, and Juntura School Districts.
Ingram said the five highest taxpayers in the county included Idaho Power Company, Simplot U.S. Food Group Holdings, Cypress Creek Renewables, Fry Foods and Ormat Technologies Inc.
Ingram said residents can contest their property tax assessments through an appeal process. However, he said he would like people to call his office or drop by for a review to assuage their concerns. If the resident still is not happy, he said, they can go before the county Board of Tax Appeals. Appeals must be filed by Dec. 31, said Ingram.
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