The county treasurer holds a key position of public trust in the financial affairs of local government. In addition, the treasurer is charged with the collection of various taxes that benefit a wide range of governmental units. As the depository for all funds, fees collected by other county offices as well as those collected by the various districts, are forwarded to the treasurer for custody. State and federal monies allocated to local governments are transmitted to the treasurer and are deposited to the proper funds in accordance with current statutes. Monthly reports are prepared to show the accounting transactions by fund for each unit of government.
Property taxes are a major source of revenue to local governments.
Billed by the county treasurer, these taxes are distributed upon collection to the various state, school, county, city and district funds as levies. The county treasurer also bills and collects special assessments authorized by the voters to fund improvements or to provide a specific service to property owners within a localized district. In addition, the county treasurer acts as agent for the Washington State Department of Revenue to administer and collect the real estate excise tax on the conveyance of real property. These taxes, which help fund the state public school system and local government capital improvements, are paid by the seller as a percentage of the sale price.