Property taxes pay for a number of critical services including public safety (law enforcement, fire, and emergency services), parks, schools, public transportation, public defense, elections, community justice, and a host of other vital public services.
Columbia County will collect $93,852,753 in taxes from businesses and private landowners this year. But most of that amount does not get added to the county budget; only 9.44 percent, or roughly $8.9 million, goes into the county’s general fund. An additional 3.89 percent, or $3.6 million, goes to the Jail Operation Fund from the local option levy approved by county voters.
Tax dollars disbursed to the general fund largely pay for county law enforcement and public safety, including the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, jail operations, and the district attorney’s office. The remainder pays for general county administration, including the assessor’s office, land development services, juvenile services, and the county commission.
More than 85 percent of property tax funds collected are distributed to local schools, cities, and special districts, such as those that manage 911 services or soil and water conservation. The fire districts that protect the entire county, from Vernonia to Clatskanie to Scappoose, receive more than 19 percent of the total. But the vast majority of taxes (47 percent) go towards education, including five school districts, one educational service district, and Portland Community College.
Here’s the breakdown:
- Schools: $44,623,284 – 47 percent
- Fire Districts: $17,594,630 – 19 percent
- Columbia County Government: $12,509,900 – 13 percent
- City Governments: $9,001,087 – 10 percent
- Special Districts: $6,831,596 – 7 percent
- Urban Renewal: $1,729,950 – 2 percent
- Drainage/Special Assessments: $1,562,306 – 2 percent
- TOTAL: $93,852,753
In May of 2020, voters within the St. Helens School District boundary approved a $55 million bond to address “health, safety, building systems, and education programs” at the High School. The tax collection to pay this bond was delayed until 2022, as promised to taxpayers when the bond was approved. Taxpayers will begin seeing this on their property tax statements this year. This bond is in addition to the $49 million bond that was passed in 2016. The increase in tax for those in this district is roughly $1 per thousand of assessed value. For example, if your assessed value is $100,000, you would see an additional $100 in tax.
On the top left of your property tax statement is your code number. To see the exact charges for your specific code, go to the county Assessor’s webpage at columbiacountyor.gov and open the 2022-23 Summary of Assessment & Tax Roll. The document contains a list of all agencies in the county that receive the taxes.
Original source can be found here.
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