Franklin County residents may find themselves paying less in property taxes this year, while Benton County residents may pay a little more.

Residents of both counties should receive their tax statements soon, if they haven't already.

Here's a breakdown:

Franklin County

Franklin County's levy rates have been pushed down by new construction that's added to the tax base and a drop in tax collections, said Assessor Steve Marks.

The county's assessed property values went up by $170 million to $4.7 billion, while at the same time the county will collect about $59.7 million in property taxes -- about $500,000 less than 2009, Marks said.

Dropping school bond rates contributed to the decrease, he said.

In Franklin County, the average 2010 levy rate is $10.76 per $1,000 of assessed value. That means the owner of a $100,000 home will pay $1,076.

Pasco residents will pay about $12.73 per $1,000 -- 66 cents less than last year, while Connell property owners will pay $11.79 per $1,000 -- 39 cents more than 2009.

While the county treasurer's office collects all property taxes, Marks said Franklin County will keep only about $9.8 million, or 17 percent, of the 2010 tax collection for county general expenses and roads.

About half of the property taxes in Franklin County go to school districts through maintenance and operation levies and bonds, amounting to $29 million this year.

State schools receive $9.4 million, about 16 percent. Pasco will receive 10 percent, or a little more than $6 million.

Because the real estate market has been stable, property values stayed mostly the same, with some areas increasing 2 percent to 4 percent, Marks said. The county has 37,025 taxing parcels.

Benton County

In Benton County, more than half of the taxing districts increased their levy rates. Some of the increases can be attributed to voter-approved special levies for schools, said Barbara Wagner, county assessor.

Of the 57 taxing districts in the county, 33 increased levy rates, which is more than normal, she said. Typically levy rates drop because of the state-mandated 1 percent cap on property tax income, she said.

Wagner said some school levies passed recently included an increased levy rate for the second year.

For example, Kennewick and Kiona-Benton City school districts included an increased levy rate for 2010 in the levy requests voters passed in 2008.

Benton County's assessed value is $13.4 billion, an increase of about $648 million, Wagner said. The increase was not as large as previous years because fewer of the 70,000 properties in the county increased in value .

Wagner's office sent out 25,000 notices of a change in value this year, 30 percent fewer than usual.

The Benton County average levy rate in 2010 is $12.03 per $1,000 of assessed value. That means the owner of a $100,000 home will pay about $1,203.

For Kennewick residents, the average levy rate is $11.34 cents per $1,000 of assessed value -- 7 cents more than last year.

Richland residents had an average levy rate increase of 20 cents to about $11.42, while West Richland increased 24 cents to about $11.98 on average.

Prosser residents are seeing a drop of about 66 cents, to an average of $12.24 per $1,000.

Benton County will collect about $157 million in property taxes this year, about $8.5 million more than last year, said Duane Davidson, county treasurer. But only $18.4 million will go to the county.

About $27.5 million goes to cities in the county, $61.7 million will go to school districts and $26.7 million will go to schools, he said.

Franklin County taxes can be paid at the treasurer's office, by mail, on the county's website or by using the 1-800 number on the statement.

Benton County taxes can be paid at the Kennewick office, through mail or the county's website.

Questions? Call the Franklin County Treasurer's Office at 545-3518 or the Assessor's Office at 545-3506 or call the Benton County Treasurer's Office at 736-3087 or the Assessor's Office at 736-3088.

Those ages 61 and over who earn less than $35,000 per year can visit the state Department of Revenue's website at dor.wa.gov/ to apply for a senior citizen exemption.

-- Kristi Pihl: 582-1512; kpihl@tricityherald.com