Property taxes have increased in most of Island County, but Oak Harbor residents might feel the most pain in the pocketbook.

Tax statements were mailed this month to Island County property owners and the wave of discontent is building.

Voter-approved levies like the emergency medical services and combined school levies helped jack up tax bills particularly high in Oak Harbor.

The skyrocketing property assessments that fueled community anger throughout the county last fall also played a part.

“The EMS levy was a huge one,” said Island County Assessor Dave Mattens. “Oak Harbor will probably see the greatest increase in taxes because of the levies. That’s based also on 37 percent overall valuation increase throughout the whole county.”

The rest of Whidbey Island will experience fewer taxes than Oak Harbor, but likely still more than last year. Camano Island will emerge relatively unscathed because they were not impacted by the EMS levy, Mattens said.

The assessor was loath to assign blanket tax rates or averages to each county region, as the patchwork of taxing districts overlap and the rates differ depending on specific residence locations.

“I really don’t want to speak in averages,” Mattens said. “One of the appraisers in our office, his taxes went up something like 22 percent.”

Dan Jones, assessor’s office levy analyst, estimated taxes countywide increased by an average of 8 to 10 percent. He emphasized that localities like Oak Harbor would take the biggest hit.

More than $92 million in taxes are slated for collection this year, up from approximately $81 million in 2006. The average levy rate decreased from $8.90 per $1,000 of assessed value for 2006 to $7.45 per $1,000 of assessed value this year. As already noted, however, assessments went up an average 37 percent.

Formulating an equation that effectively explains the manner in which taxes increased, decreased and remained static is a sticky undertaking. Mattens had been studying numbers in the Holmes Harbor area that he delivered in the form of explanations to residents at a Tuesday speaking engagement. After sampling the population, the figures he came up with were surprising.

“If a property assessment went up 37 percent, taxes increased 12 percent,” he said. “If valuation went up 26 percent, taxes are pretty much even to what they paid last year. If their assessment had only gone up about 12 percent, their taxes had actually gone down to 9 percent.”

Before succumbing to a tax-induced coronary thrombosis, Mattens implored taxpayers to pore over their statements and sift through actual property taxes and levies.

“People need to determine what percentage was due to levies and what percentage of that tax increase was actually due to property tax,” he said. “I think that is important. There are going to be people whose taxes actually went down because their valuation was well below the average.”

Tom Clatterbuck of Oak Harbor was not one of those lucky people with decreasing taxes.

“Everything went up astronomically,” he said.

Clatterbuck’s taxes increased from about $1,500 in 2006 to more than $2,200 this year. The dollar amount of levies almost doubled. His total assessment went up 48 percent, compared to a modest increase the previous year. He acknowledged that his taxes did not increase at that exorbitant rate, but the hike was substantial.

“In 13 years it’s gone up at a reasonable rate. Then this happened,” he said.

Clatterbuck fears for property owners with fixed incomes on Social Security or military retirement who are at risk of being assessed and taxed out of their homes.

“This is not keeping up with inflation,” he said.

David Horlock of Coupeville feels Clatterbuck’s pain. His taxes went up 15 percent, which included a $300 jump in levies.

“We need to limit the yearly tax increase to the cost of living index, or at least close to it,” Horlock said. “This 15 percent doesn’t cut it, because I can’t get it back. That’s money out the door.”

Horlock said the “gouging” of property owners needs to stop in Olympia where legislators have the power to act as a collective tourniquet for hemorrhaging taxpayers.

“It’s got to be controlled,” he said. “And how do we control it? Through the Legislature.”

Other homeowners in Horlock’s area have seen tax increases ranging from $400 to $1,800. Like Clatterbuck, he shudders to think about people existing on dwindling retirement.

“Every year the retirement is less and less and less,” he said, wondering out loud how tax money is spent by the powers that be. “What do they do with all that money? It’s incredible.”