A: Checking his records, King County Assessor Scott Noble found countywide property taxes declined 4.5 percent in 1980. He can't say why because that preceded his tenure.

What he can say is King County has about 100 taxing districts, such as school, fire and water districts, that overlap in numerous ways. King County's overall non-voted property taxes are set to increase 0.67 percent this year.

"Voted taxes, on the other hand, increased 21.74 percent. Twenty-four of 31 property-tax measures voted on last year passed," Noble says. They pay for everything from parks to emergency medical services.

Important to know, he says, is that Washington, unlike most states, has a budget-based system for property taxes.

"Budget always comes first. That means that a given amount of money has to be raised," Noble explains. "The assessed value does not create more money or less money for government."

So if an assessment doubles, will the government get any more money? No, he says, because the budget determines how much needs to be collected. The system adjusts for that.