Applications are being accepted to fill a vacancy on the Pierce County Board of Equalization. The seven-member board hears appeals from taxpayers who disagree with the assessed value of their properties as determined by the Assessor-Treasurer’s Office, such as property valuations and exemption changes and denials.

The board session begins on July 15 each year. The board is on a three member rotation cycle; each member works three weeks in a row with two weeks off. Upon completing work before it, the board adjourns until fall when petition hearings begin. Members receive a per diem for attending board meetings. New members are required to attend a two-day Department of Revenue training session. Elected officials or employees of elected officials are ineligible for board service. People who have worked in the Assessor-Treasurer’s Office within the past two years also are ineligible.

Board members are appointed by the county executive subject to County Council confirmation. Applications are due by March 11 and can be requested in person from the Clerk of the Board of Equalization’s Office, 2401 S. 35th St. (room 176), by e-mail at pcexecutive@co.pierce.wa.us or on the Web at http://www.co.pierce.wa.us/xml/services/citzopp/B&C.Application.pdf .