Vision? Don Baack has always had a clear vision. He has dedicated the last 30 years to Southwest Trails, a 50-mile system of pathways in a community that struggles to make sidewalk investments.
Prescience? Baack, 87, is armed to the teeth. However, vision impairment is a crippling condition.
His left eye is starting to fail, while his right eye is completely destroyed. Baack seldom misses a step on his daily excursions along his favorite trails due to his relentless fight with macular degeneration, but occasionally he finds it difficult to read the fine print on documents like property tax statements.
The most recent episode in Multnomah County’s mercenary vendetta against the tortured souls who continue to live and pay taxes in the sylvan valley is thus brought to light.
Baack signed a check for $15,830.30 in mid-November to pay the property taxes on his 76-year-old southwest Portland home. For fifty-two years, Baack and his spouse have resided in the residence within a short distance from Ida B. Wells High School.
Baack was given a 3% discount on his total assessment of $16,325.05. This was because he was paying every last penny of the total amount due.
It’s a hefty amount, over 60% more than Clackamas County property taxes for a comparable home. Baack made the payment without protest. The check cleared his bank on Friday, November 22. That weekend, Baack realized his error while checking his account balance:
In reality, his tax amount was $15,835.30, which was $5 more than the check he had sent to the county. He misread the amount owed, even with a magnifying lens.
Baack’s house in southwest Portland.Duin
Since this is not the first time his eyes have deceived him, Baack was carefully verifying his testimony. After making a $30 mistake two years prior, he learned that Multnomah County, which is awash in revenue, does not issue notices of underpayment until the subsequent bill is due.
Given that the county has the authority to impose a monthly penalty fee of 1.333% on the outstanding sum, why even bother?
Baack therefore made amends right away. He promptly submitted the $5 and a $1 processing charge, which were noted by the nation’s tax collectors on November 26.
However, when Baack followed up with Multnomah, he was informed that his $5 error had changed to a $171.68 charge just before the payment deadline.
To make amends, Baack had to pay an additional $166.
Baack points out that’s not a fair interest charge. For a five-dollar error, that is an incredibly high fee.
And a mistake that Baack found nearly instantly and fixed before Thanksgiving.
Given that Multnomah County commissioners and Chair Jessica Vega Pederson are frequently pleading with the public to pardon their errors in handling the homeless, animal control, ambulance response times, a sobering center, and predatory tax collection methods, you might think that calls for a grace period.
But when Baack called the county repeatedly, he got mixed messages.
First, he was informed that there was no room for error and no way to appeal. An Assessment and Taxation staffer explained in an email on December 12 that Baack was only eligible for a 2% credit on his 2017 property tax bill since he paid $5 less than the entire amount, leaving $171.68 outstanding.
Baack has been creating and maintaining the city’s pedestrian trail system for nearly 30 years.Duin
She noted that the procedures are set by state statute and are not within our control, much like nearly everything else we are tasked with in this office.
The County is at a loss. The county’s communications director, Julie Sullivan-Springhetti, added in an email on Friday. Since the law forbids the county assessor from interpreting a taxpayer’s intent, we are unable to offer an additional 1% deduction. This person doesn’t feel treated fairly. However, we are making an effort to treat every taxpayer in the county fairly. Additionally, fairness entails that everyone be subject to the same rules.
I can’t even begin to think how the taxpayer would feel if the assessor believed Baack when he said that the money was a pitiful five dollars.
Furthermore, Baack said that when he met with Allison Wellman, the tax collection supervisor, she informed him that she would take into account a request from a county commissioner to grant Baack credit for payment without penalty.
Jessica? Sharon? Julia? Lori? You are in court over the bill.
Baack has been a Multnomah County resident for 52 years, as was previously mentioned. He has paid almost $133,000 in property taxes in the past ten years alone. Long after his eyes have given up the ghost, he has been volunteering hundreds of hours annually to plan pathways and build staircases that will enable his neighbors to hike over hills and valleys.
Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. of the Supreme Court famously stated that taxes are the cost of living in a civilized society, but those eyes are failing, not him.
He’s not requesting a holiday present or particular favors. He is requesting that the local tax collectors exercise greater common sense when citizens who obviously wish to pay their property taxes in full make a minor error.
In addition to outreach to senior individuals who might not be aware that they can check their property records and potential interest charges online, he is requesting a reduction in late fees for homeowners who have a history of compliance.
Don Baack seems to be requesting the moon in Multnomah County.
— Duin, Steve
gmail.com/Stephen.B. Duin.
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