Archives West Finding Aid

Roy Brooks Misener (January 3, 1896-July 22, 1955) was elected to the office of King County Assessor in Washington State in 1935. When Misener assumed office as King County Assessor in January 1935, he found himself confronted with "[many] inequalities of taxation and an antiquated and inefficient system of records". In his role as County Assessor, Misener most notably created the King County Land Use Survey a pioneering four-year undertaking begun in 1936 in partnership with the federal Works Progress Administration. The survey, which concluded in September 1940, was the largest white-collar WPA project to be carried out in King County. The survey was meant to correct inequalities in property tax assessments that had accumulated over the years due to lack of data, inaccurate data, subjectivity in property appraisals, and an outdated recordkeeping system. Aerial photography, field engineering surveys, and a timber survey were among the tools used to ensure that property taxation was maintained into the future. As a result of the survey, tax revenues increased by $574,000 per year, King County was fully photographed from the air for the first time, and photographs were taken of nearly every structure standing in the county at the time. In addition to his work as Assessor, Misener was a Washington State delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1940. Misener lived with his family in the Puget Sound area of western Washington State.