The Clark County assessor wants to educate homeowners better when it comes to property taxes
CLARK COUNTY — It’s been a rough couple of years for Clark County Assessor Peter Van Nortwick. In 2018, property values and new statewide property taxes to pay for education funding hit, causing many homeowners to see significant increases in their property taxes.
Despite the vitriol he’s experienced, Van Nortwick was still voted back into office with nearly 60 percent of the vote, beating Ridgefield City Councilor Darren Wertz for the second consecutive time.
“In the primary I got less than I thought I was going to,” says Van Nortwick. “But we really started getting the message out why the tax increases happened, and I think once we started getting that out and people started learning exactly what was driving the property tax increases, I just saw the campaign becoming more and more positive for us.”
Despite the frustration evident in taxpayers, Van Nortwick lost barely over one percentage point compared to his 2014 win over Wertz.
While Wertz did respond to an interview request from ClarkCountyToday.com, he missed several key debates during the campaign. Wertz said he had been spending time taking care of his mother, who was ill, but hoped to run a more active campaign this time around.
Despite the comfortable victory, Van Nortwick is keenly aware that public scrutiny is increasing on the Assessor’s office. But he’s hopeful that a slow down in home appreciation and property tax relief from the state will make things a little easier on him this coming year.
“Between the state schools and the local maintenance and operations levy, which this year averaged about $5.71, next year across the county for everyone it’ll be about $4.00 (per thousand of assessed value),” Van Nortwick says.
The other major goal for his third term will be to increase education for homeowners about what’s leading to a rise in property taxes.
“Probably do a better job just letting people know what’s happening in the market, what’s happening in their taxes,” Van Nortwick says. “A lot of times I’d talk to people and they’d be ‘our house jumped $40,000, why is that?’ and I’d start telling people the median household price in Clark County jumped $46,000. That was information a lot of people just didn’t have.”
Van Nortwick says he also hopes to continue educating homeowners about new programs aimed at property tax relief for senior citizens, the disabled, and veterans, as well as incorporating new technology to make it easier for people to keep track of their property taxes.
You can read more about the Assessor’s office, and what they do, by visiting the county’s website here.
