Average property tax is up $184 in Seattle

Elected leaders also played a role in expanding the tax burden on property owners.

King County property taxes increased 8.18 percent overall, according to Noble, though that figure includes taxes on new buildings and construction and does not reflect the increase current property owners will pay. For them, the increase comes at a rate of 6.55 percent.

Those increases are too much for anti-tax initiative sponsor Tim Eyman.

"The voter is put in this impossible position where their essential services are held hostage, and the only way to get these services is to pay the ransom," Eyman said. "For people on a fixed income, it's unfair. There's no way your Social Security check went up by 8.18 percent."

Ironically, county Budget Office Director Bob Cowan said, the increases were needed to counteract the effects of I-747, an Eyman anti-tax initiative capping property tax increases to 1 percent without voter approval.

The state Supreme Court voided I-747 last year, but it was reinstated late in the year in a special legislative session.

"With the passage of I-747 (property tax increases were) reduced to 1 percent. Nobody's costs are increasing by only 1 percent a year," Cowan said. "Do we ask for increases in other fees, or do we cut services?"

Cowan said that without passage of a parks levy, the county's parks would have been shut down. He said rising fuel costs and inflation were factors in the need for tax increases.

Noble said that since I-747 went into effect, county voters have consistently approved measures to permanently raise property taxes.

This year's increase amounts to a growth of $241 million in property tax revenue collection over the previous year. Tax rates have increased consistently in recent years, with this year's 6.55 percent being the largest. In 2007, property taxes were increased 5.87 percent; 2006 saw a 4.54 percent increase.

King County contains 84 separate taxing districts, some of which are overlapping school, fire and utilities districts -- and all of which may have passed levies. The net effect is that some homeowners get hit harder with multiple levied increases while others see smaller increases.

Areas with the largest average individual property tax increases are Mercer Island ($558), Bellevue ($420), Issaquah ($353) and Highline ($342).

Renton property owners face the smallest average tax increase, $40 this year.

Chris Nefcy, 51, owns a home near Green Lake and another in Wedgwood, but said he "won't be one of those people who bark about taxes going up."

With two sons at Roosevelt High School, Nefcy doesn't mind paying, because a significant chunk of the money will go to the Seattle School District.

"The big question is: How accountable are the people who implement the spending?"