The Olympian reports:

“Thurston County owns a dubious distinction. The backlog of property tax appeals is greater in Thurston County than any other county in the state.

While setting the 2011 budget, county commissioners must remember that justice delayed is justice denied. And property tax payers who are waiting a year or two have their appeals heard are being denied justice.

And the statistics show taxpayers have good reason to be upset. In almost half the cases from 2007, taxpayers proved their case for lower property valuations. Thats a significant error rate on the countys part…

Its clear that todays system is broken.

Anytime you have hundreds of taxpayers waiting 16 months or longer to have their cases heard, the system is broken.

Anytime Thurston County leads the state in the number of pending appeals, the system is broken.”