DOUGLAS COUNTY ASSESSOR'S OFFICE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 20, 2020
Douglas County Annual Property Tax Assessment
(Roseburg, Oregon) – The Douglas County Tax office will mail out the 2020-21 property tax statements this week and property owners on average will pay 5% more than they did in 2019. The changes that property owners will note on their tax bills this year is Glendale School District passed a bond to replace a bond that expired this year. Winston-Dillard School District had a bond mature, but was replaced by a bond passed in the previous year. Lane Community College also passed a new bond, which affects those properties in northern Douglas County. Tenmile Fire District passed a 5-year local option levy. Property owners will be billed $113 million, up from last year’s $108 million, which will be distributed to 117 taxing districts. The County’s share will be $11.46 million, up 5.2% from a year ago. The average tax rate is $10.06 per $1,000 of assessed value. That is a decrease of less than 1% from last year, when the average was $10.11. The lowest tax rate in Douglas County is $6.24 per $1,000 of assessed value, which is in parts of rural Douglas County. The highest rate is $19.06 per $1,000, which is in the city of Reedsport.
A review of 16 residential homes throughout the county shows an average increase of 4% in real market values while the assessed values also increased by 4%. This is greater than the allowed 3% due to the sample properties having new construction.
Property owners who have questions or concerns about their assessment can contact the Assessor’s office at (541) 440-4222. Due to COVID-19, the Douglas County Assessment and Cartography offices will be open by appointment only from Monday, October 19, 2020 through Tuesday, November 17, 2020.
Property Tax payment related questions can be addressed with the Tax Collector’s office. As a reminder, in order to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19, the Douglas County Tax Collector’s Office will be closed to the public from October 19, 2020 through November 27, 2020. Their office will continue to provide service to our customers remotely via phone, e-mail or online: Phone: (541) 440-4253, email: tax@co.douglas.or.us or website: www.co.douglas.or.us/finance/tax_collection.asp. Staff will be available to assist customers via phone and email between the hours of 8:00 am and 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday.
Dissatisfied taxpayers can appeal their assessment to the Board of Property Tax Appeals by December 31. Appeals hearing are held in February.
###
Contact Tamara Howell, Douglas County Emergency Communications & Community Engagement Specialist (PIO)
(541) 670-2804 cell - (541) 957-4896 office - tjhowell@co.douglas.or.us
About Douglas County Assessor’s Office
The Assessor's Office strives to ensure that all property is appraised and assessed accurately; that all citizens are treated fairly and honestly; and that all programs comply with the Oregon Constitution, Oregon Revised Statutes and Oregon Administrative Rules. The County Assessor is an elected official with a four-year term of office. The County Assessor's chief responsibilities are to appraise property; to maintain ownership maps and indexes of property; to approve and monitor special farm and forest assessments and all exemption programs; and to prepare an assessment roll and tax roll. The County Assessor does not determine the amount of taxes to be levied. Local budget committees within cities, the County and special districts determine dollar amounts needed in tax levies. The required amounts are placed on the tax rolls by the County Assessor.
The Assessor's Office is a valuable source of information on all property located in Douglas County and it offers two computer terminals for public information use. The Reedsport Annex also has a computer terminal for public use with information being provided by the receptionist in the Sheriff's Department. Part-time help is funded by the Assessor's Office to offset the time required to provide comprehensive countywide public assistance in the Reedsport area.