This letter is spot on.  

Property values should be based on sales price plus up to 2 percent a year increase for inflation based on inflation numbers.

It is bad enough that your home gets reassessed annually, but the problem is the assessors are COUNTY employees!  Talk about a conflict of interest - your salary is based in part by the assessments you make.  If you assess a price higher than it's value and all assessors do the same thing - this translates over to your salary and possible salary increases.  Plus, as this letter writer noted, you have to deal with the county to try to get information that it is your right to have.  Don't pay your property taxes - goodbye home.....don't respond to public information requests in a timely manner - nothing happens!

If Island County and Washington state are to continue this bad methodology of taxation - at least the assessors should be an independent entity and contracted out to entities with no connection to the county.