Is anyone getting hit with property tax increases on this board?

[rob in cal]

Out here in California property taxes are pretty stable due to Prop 13, but I'm wondering if anyone elsewhere is getting hit with any increases.  In my hometown, voters narrowly failed to pass (it needed two thirds) a property tax increase of 90 dollars per parcel to shore up library funding.  I've read about runaway property tax increases on the east coast over the years, but haven't heard any horror stories lately.

[Ban my account ffs!]

Rising property taxes have been a major issue here for the past 8 years.  It will also be a huge thorn in Pawlenty's side when he desperately makes a failed bid to run for the presidency.  When you tout not having raised taxes but have hiked fees up and caused a doubling of property tax rates in real terms all while seeing government services reduced... the fiscal responsibility mantra doesn't fit.

Pawlenty is putting small businesses in rural areas out of business with the massive property tax hikes so he can keep his far right street cred and protect those poor rich souls at the country club in North Oaks and Minnetonka.

[memphis]

Constantly. And not just with rate hike. The assessor's office deliberately (there's no other explaination) overvalues property to bring in more money. They said my brother's house was worth $290,000 when a private appraissor valued it at $220,000.

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

yes

[phk]

No

[Bleeding heart conservative, HTMLdon]

Constantly. And not just with rate hike. The assessor's office deliberately (there's no other explaination) overvalues property to bring in more money. They said my brother's house was worth $290,000 when a private appraissor valued it at $220,000.

Don't forget that the "they" is Democrat Cheyenne Johnson.

During his campaign Bill Giannini warned us that this was going on and wanted to put an end to the practice, but alas the voters of Shelby County turned down common sense in August '08.

[angus]

Is anyone getting hit with property tax increases on this board?

Hell yes.  And this really chaps my ass.  The school district claims that it will be about 24-cent increase per $1,000 valuation.  I wouldn't mind if some of it was going to my son's school, but it's to fund a "laboratory school."  One that was scandalized, no less, about two years ago when some fuzzy math was discovered by state auditors.  It's an odd situation in which the Malcolm Price Lab School, which has been traditionally funded by the taxpayers of the state, is hurting for money and the state has decided to pass their woes along to the city of Cedar Falls.  I wish they'd close it down.  The city's school board superintendent has not yet disputed claims by the state that the city will benefit from the increase.  Everyone I know is up in arms about it, and I assume it will be a major issue in the next school board election, but for two years we'll just have to live with it.

[memphis]

Constantly. And not just with rate hike. The assessor's office deliberately (there's no other explaination) overvalues property to bring in more money. They said my brother's house was worth $290,000 when a private appraissor valued it at $220,000.

Don't forget that the "they" is Democrat Cheyenne Johnson.

During his campaign Bill Giannini warned us that this was going on and wanted to put an end to the practice, but alas the voters of Shelby County turned down common sense in August '08.

I'm not concerned with party for the local races. The overvalueing of property is a longstanding local tradition.

[angus]

Okay, so I emailed David Stoakes, the Cedar Falls Schools superintendent with a rather detailed message outlining my objection to the tax increase, and asked him whether I should vent to the city or the state or what.  It was an unusual situation so I wasn't clear.  He wrote me back a couple of days later saying that he was with me, and so was the school board.  He suggested that I make some noise.  I should contact Walt Rogers, my new state rep.  It seems that Dorris Kelley, my outgoing and defeated state rep, along with the city's other state rep, Bob Kressig, and our state senator, Jeff Danielsen, were the ones who initiated all this.  So I wrote Danielsen and Rogers.  I don't expect Danielsen to be sympathetic, but I do expect Rogers to.  He's a fire-breathing, anti-tax zealot to begin with, and I expect he'll be incensed as well about this tax.  Rogers is my neighbor.  Lives about two blocks away and I see him and say howdy from time to time.  I may even go knock on his door and talk about this one in person.  I won't mention to Rogers that I didn't vote for him.

It's not so much the tax that bothers me as much as the fact that this was thrust upon the residents of this school district by the state.  Wherein lies sovereignty?  Whether or not one supports this lab school, don't the voters of this school district get a say in whether they want to bear the burden of a tax?  (A tax that doesn't go toward the education of our children!)  I think the voters will want a say in the matter.

I'll let y'all know what I find out from Rogers.

[??????????]

No, my property taxes went down almost 300 dollars. Nearly 50%.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

My rent has not increased in two years, so I'll assume no.

[opebo]

No, my property taxes went down almost 300 dollars. Nearly 50%.

Your house is probably worth about 50,000 dollars eh?

[angus]

sonofabitch.  I finally got a response from rogers.

well, long story short, he seems genuinely concerned and says he promises to bring up my perspective in the first meeting of the legislature that it seems appropriate. 

I'd actually forgotten I emailed him. 

[Torie]

Hey, my town is building a fancy city hall. It is just too demeaning for it to rent space.  Granted the city unlike most, is loaded with money (no poors, and two Costcos and a Mercedes dealer to run up the sales tax revenue), and even Pubbies tend to have the itch to spend. If I had been retired 10 years ago, I would have devoted my attention to killing the idea, and I bet I could have succeeded. I am a pretty skilled agitator. But I was not, so there you go.

[opebo]

Hey, my town is building a fancy city hall. It is just too demeaning for it to rent space.  Granted the city unlike most, is loaded with money (no poors, and two Costcos and a Mercedes dealer to run up the sales tax revenue), and even Pubbies tend to have the itch to spend. If I had been retired 10 years ago, I would have devoted my attention to killing the idea, and I bet I could have succeeded. I am a pretty skilled agitator. But I was not, so there you go.

But anything's better, economically speaking, than leaving the dosh in your hands, no?

[Ban my account ffs!]

Property taxes here have been flat the past 2 years.  This is because the county has reduced its workforce plus cheaper costs for county activities.

Housing values didn't drop nearly as much as say in Florida or California... and have been on the rise again... so that also has to do with the rate not increasing sharply.

That said.. the school district had not raised it's levy but will raise it the maximum amount this year (they get like $1 million from non-voter approved property tax levies out of a $45 million budget.. so it's hardly a drop in the bucket when they're faced with some pretty big cuts from the state).