Tri-State asking about tax exemption for Evergreen Estates

Tri-State Memorial Hospital in Clarkston hasn’t ruled out asking Washington state for a property tax exemption for part of Evergreen Estates, a housing complex for senior citizens with assisted living.

“We may be able to get a small partial exemption for Evergreen Estates due to the Medicaid population that lives within the building, but this is not guaranteed and is still under review,” said Rebecca Mann, a spokeswoman for the not-for-profit hospital, in a recent email.

Earlier this year, Tri-State sought a $136,264 annual exemption for all of Evergreen Estates from the Washington state Department of Revenue, but that proposal was later withdrawn.

At the same time, that agency has determined another medical care provider, the CHAS Lewis & Clark Dental Clinic in downtown Clarkston, is entitled to a reduction of $8,200 for its property tax bill of $15,259 in 2020 and a decrease of $7,900 for 2019, said Asotin County Assessor Jenny Rynearson in an email.

State rules allow organizations that meet certain criteria to seek refunds for tax bills for as many as three previous years.

Those updates come about two weeks after Tri-State’s request to the Department of Revenue to get a property tax exemption for clinics and offices on its Clarkston campus became public.

That tax break would be worth almost $150,000 in 2020 and as much as $469,287 for 2017, 2018 and 2019, not including any exemption for Evergreen Estates.

So far, the department has granted Tri-State an exemption for a wellness center for about $2,000 a year that is not retroactive, Rynearson said.

Tri-State’s main hospital building has been tax exempt since its founding because the organization is a not-for-profit that provides health care, often writing off bad debt of individuals who can’t afford their bills.

Any expansion of the exemption would force Asotin County tax districts, such as the Clarkston School District and the city of Clarkston, to trim the lost revenue from their budgets.

That isn’t the only hassle Tri-State’s proposal could create.

All property tax payers in Asotin County would be responsible for any retroactive tax breaks the Department of Revenue grants Tri-State.

Previously, government officials had indicated that city of Clarkston residents would be the only ones who would cover that bill.

Were that allowed for all of the properties other than Evergreen Estates, Asotin County would have to collect the $469,287 that Tri-State paid in 2017, 2018 and 2019 for any newly exempted properties in 2021.

Based on $469,287, Rynearson estimates city of Clarkston residents would pay 51 cents per $1,000 of assessed value.

Property owners in the Clarkston School District outside Clarkston’s city limits would owe about 30 cents per $1,000 of assessed value. Those residing in the Asotin-Anatone School District, including those in the city of Asotin, would pay 22 cents per $1,000 of assessed value.

Those amounts will be at least a little lower because the exemption for the wellness center is not retroactive, Rynearson said.

But she is not going to calculate new projections until the Department of Revenue makes decisions on more of Tri-State’s request.

Williams may be contacted at ewilliam@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2261.