You can pay property taxes by mail, by phone, online, or by dropping it by the Sherman County Courthouse. Find payment details on the Tax Collector’s “Options for Payment” page. Property owners may appeal the value of their property or penalties assessed for late filing of real or personal property returns. All personal property tax is delinquent when any installment is not paid on time.

No, currently Sherman County does not have property information available online. However, you can come by the Sherman County Courthouse between 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. to get titling, zoning, property line, and other information from the County Clerk’s Office or the Assessor’s Office.

Sherman County’s current budget can be accessed on the County Court Budget search page.

Fill out the County’s Application for Employment and mail it to Sherman County, P.O. Box 365, Moro, OR 97039. Indicate which position(s) you are applying for in the gray box on page 1.

The Finance Department, also known as the Financial Services Department or Finance & Tax Office, provides many services that support all Offices and Departments under Sherman County Government.  Services include:  Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Payroll, Budget/Audit, and Road Cost Accounting. The Financial Services Department also administers Property Tax Collection and the Resident Incentive Program.

The Sherman County Tax Office sends out manufactured structure tax statements in late October of each year representing taxes for the current tax year, July 1 through June 30.  The tax is due each year by November 15th.

Sherman County’s Board of Property Tax Appeals offers a process for citizens to request a reduction of the value of their buildings, manufactured structures, land, industrial machinery, and industrial equipment. Appeal forms are online; see “How to appeal your property value” for further details on the hearing process. Note that property value, not taxes, are the subject of the hearing.

The Sherman County Tax Office sends out four distinctly different property tax statements — real, personal, manufactured structures, and utility — in late October of each year representing taxes for the current tax year, July 1 through June 30.

There is a change of address form located on the back of the return portion of your statement.  Simply fill this out and return with your payment. If you have yet to receive your tax statement, simply contact the Finance Director to update your address information.

If your property tax statement is green, it simply means that no mortgage company has requested your tax statement.  If you have recently refinanced or changed lenders, your mortgage company may not have requested your tax statements.

The property owner is responsible for making sure that property taxes are paid. If you are not sure who is supposed to pay your property taxes, please call your mortgage company.

If your property tax statement is yellow, it means either a mortgage company or the Disabled and Senior Citizens Property Tax Deferral Program is paying your property tax for you. This statement is for your records.

If your property tax statement is yellow, it means that a mortgage company has requested your tax statement.  Seniors taking part in the Senior Citizens Property Tax Deferral Program also receive a yellow tax statement.  If your mortgage company or the Senior Citizens Property Tax Deferral Program pays your property taxes for you, then this statement is for your records.

If your property tax statement is green, it simply means that no mortgage company has requested your tax statement.  If you have recently refinanced or changed lenders, your mortgage company may not have requested your tax statements.

The property owner is responsible for making sure that property taxes are paid. If you are not sure who is supposed to pay your property taxes, please call your mortgage company.

You can pay by mail, at the Courthouse, by telephone, or online. There’s a “convenience fee” — levied by our secure-payment processor — for the latter two options. See our “Options for Payment” page for specifics.

Interest is charged on any past due installment(s) for the schedule you are following. By Oregon law (ORS 311.505), the interest rate is 1.333% per month or fraction of a month until paid.

Property taxes may be paid in installments using one of the following schedules:

1. Full payment — Pay the “Full Payment” amount on or before November 15 and receive a 3% discount.
2. Two-third payment — Pay the “2/3 Payment” amount on or before November 15 and receive a 2% discount. The final one-third payment is due by May 15.
3. One-third payment — Pay the “1/3 Payment” amount on or before November 15. There is no discount. The second one-third payment is due by February 15, and the final one-third payment is due by May 15.

Sherman County does send out reminder notices. Property tax payments must be applied to the oldest tax-year owing.

Tax statements are mailed on or before October 25, to each property owner in the county. If you do not receive your statement by November 1, please call the Tax Department at (541) 565-3623.

Property values and taxes on real property are tied to the property, not the owner. The previous owner may have done work to the property that was discovered at the time of sale.

Ballot Measure 50 limits Maximum Assessed Value (MAV) increases to 3% per year except under certain circumstances including, but not limited to:

1. New construction/additions of more than $10,000 in one year or $25,000 over 5 years
2. Remodel or significant rehabilitation of more than $10,000 in one year or $25,000 over 5 years
3. Partitioning or subdivision
4. Discovery of omitted property
5. Disqualification from exemption or special assessment

In these cases, the Assessor appraises the property to determine how much Real Market Value was added by the change(s) to the property.

Maximum Assessed Value (MAV) was established by Ballot Measure 50 for the 1997-1998 tax year. MAV is the greater of 103% of the prior year’s assessed value (AV), or 100 percent of the prior year’s MAV, whichever is greater.

MAV’s for properties that existed prior to 1995 were set based on the 1995-1996 Real Market Value (RMV), less 10%. MAVs for “new” properties (constructed or created after 1995) are set by multiplying the property’s Real Market Value (RMV) at the time of construction or creation by the Changed Property Ratio (CPR) for that year.

MAV is the only part of your tax bill where a 3% increase limit applies. However, your MAV can increase above 3 percent of the prior year’s assessed value if certain things defined as exceptions are made to your property. Maximum assessed value does not appear on your tax statement.

Your Assessed Value (AV) can increase for two reasons:

1. An Exception Event
2. Or if your previous year’s Real Market Value was lower than your Maximum Assessed Value and now your Real Market Value is more than your Maximum Assessed value. If so, you may see a jump in your Assessed Value, depending on how low your RMV was in previous year.

Assessed Value (AV) is the lower of last year’s Maximum Assessed Value (MAV) plus 3%, or the current Real Market Value (RMV). This value provides the baseline for your tax-bill calculation.

There are! You can volunteer for one of the many County advisory boards, apply for a paid volunteer position working with Emergency Services, or apply for relevant contract roles.

Many local employers post their job openings within The Dalles Chronicle, Sherman County eNews, and the Times Journal  (Condon) (distributed at Mid-Columbia Producers, 2003 1st Street in Moro, and through $35 annual mail subscriptions via Times Journal, P.O. Box 746, Condon, OR 97823; to place a job ad call (541) 384-2421 or email times-journal@jncable.com). The South Sherman Fire & Rescue also holds Firefighter Academies in April and May — for those interested in firefighting careers. Or, to work for Sherman County Ambulance, contact Shawn Payne at (541) 565-3100.

View Sherman County job openings on our Jobs page.

You’ll find an information sheet on our Property Tax Payment Options page, with details for mail, phone, and online payment options. Online payments also can be made on Sherman County’s PointandPay.net page.

Unlike other cities and counties, Sherman County municipalities fund themselves in ways that do not require additional tax payments on resident or business income. Residents would still need to pay Oregon state taxes and federal taxes (see Free File for IRS-partnered filing options). The lack of municipal taxation in Sherman County can lead to a tax savings for you of up to 3.65% every year.

The county’s Requests for Proposals are published on the Sherman County Contracts page.

You can apply to work for Sherman County by filling out our Application for Employment. If applicable, please see the Criminal History FAQ and view the County’s Criminal Check form. Also note that the County uses the Law Enforcement Data System every quarter to check employee driving records.