Meanwhile.....
Gee, we got a budget shortfall! These salaries, pensions, and health care benefits for our teachers, state, and county workers is costing billions. Wait! I know!!!! Let's raise Property Taxes even more!
Posted on 12/26/2008 2:43:08 AM PST by TigerLikesRooster
As Property Values Plunge, Tax Bills Might Not Follow
By Ashley Halsey III
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, December 26, 2008; B01
Homeowners whose property values have plummeted as much as 40 percent are unlikely to see a corresponding drop in their real estate taxes next year, and some might face a tax increase as the counties surrounding the District struggle with huge budget shortfalls.
Nearly every county in the region is deep in red ink, with some of the most populous jurisdictions looking at overwhelming budget gaps: Fairfax County faces a $650 million shortfall; Montgomery County, $450 million; and Prince William County, $190 million.
Most county officials are signaling that they will make dramatic service cuts, invoke salary freezes and furlough workers to balance their budgets. But many have been forced to take those steps already to plug gaps in the current budget year.
As officials face the most challenging budget season in recent memory, independent analysts say the projected shortfalls next year are too steep to be solved by cost-cutting alone, leaving little alternative to increasing tax rates.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Ping!
its not too complicated.....values drop and the taxable rate per thousand assessed value rises
“Assessed values” of a piece of real estate are only relevant when viewed in relation to other properties.
Those governments which used the previous rapid rise in property values to re-assess frequently and expand government expenditures with the windfall are going to have problems.
Public employee retirement system (PERS)...
Nobody wants to talk about it. In some municipalities it is eating more than half of these budgets. Some states are in trouble here as well.
These fund liabilities are required by law to be disclosed to the public. The media isn't willing to discuss this very much.
Public employee retirement system (PERS)...
These fund liabilities are required by law to be disclosed to the public. There is a noticeable timidity to discuss the problem.
Here in Kansas our schools are funded by property taxes, well the schools are at the top of their legal percentage that they can take for the schools so every year they increase the value of homes. We use to get a property value increase every 4 years, they would do a quarter of the county each year. Well now they do it every year. Each year the education board keeps touting that we have not had a tax percentage increase in so many years and every year I think BS you back door increase taxes by increasing the property value. I recently had my house value go up by around 10,000 bucks I asked why and they stated that a home of equal size has sold recently for that price. I informed them that that home had been remodeled and had a garage. It is a never ending battle against these parasites. And as the poster stated I doubt very much that my home value will go down along with my taxes.
Florida is facing a similar situation. All these homes purchased within the past five years have unreasonably high property taxes. I’m not sure what percentage of houses that is, but people change houses here like they change their underwear.
Maine home on water tax up 39%.
Meanwhile.....
Gee, we got a budget shortfall! These salaries, pensions, and health care benefits for our teachers, state, and county workers is costing billions. Wait! I know!!!! Let's raise Property Taxes even more!
We deal specifically with bank-owned properties, which in truth constitutes the entire real estate market in the the Washington, DC region [District/Maryland/Northern Va].
We process about 150 BPOs [Broker Price Opinion] per week.
We are seeing real estate values equal to the LAND assessment...let alone including the ‘improvement’ [actual home]
Where annual taxes on properties might have been $2400 at the height of the ‘boom’, they are over $6000 today.
For all you FReepers in Rio Linda, that’s an additional $300 per month on your monthly payment.
IMO, we’re getting closer to the day when people take matters into their own hands...because the local county governments are deaf and mute to the pleas from homeowneres.
“IMO, we’re getting closer to the day when people take matters into their own hands...”
What does that mean, take matters into their own hands? I’m not from Rio Linda, should I move there? LOL?
Here in Summit County, Ohio, they actually lowered the value of my house by $1,500! Of course they raised the value of my lot by $10,000.
Interesting. In my county in MI, we’ve reached the tipping point where fat welfare mommas control property taxes.
In spring, the school district wanted millions to fund various boondoogles. So they loaded the fat welfare mommas and their drunk boyfriends onto buses, dropped them at the polls and we saw raised property taxes.
Needless to say, the welfare pigs don’t pay property taxes because they get free rentals. Whatta country.
We need to embrace the concept that only property owners and taxpayers can vote.
The governments of state, city, and federal entities need to cut pensions and end the medical coverage for retirees.
The legacy burdens are enormous and the once popular idea that government salaries were not comparable to private employment is out-dated.
Government salaries in many cases are higher than private pay.
Governments don’t produce a product for sale that can be priced accordingly. Governments just raise taxes on productive people to fund government welfare.
My taxes are pretty much figured the same as yours ,only here they do it every 3 years ,and we got nailed last year before the bubble burst.
The fact is if they cant get away with the assessment fraud, they will raise the tax rate. The state and county are going to take what they need.
The Feds lower what they send to the state so the state in turn lowers what they send to the county and the county being low man on that totem pole increases property tax.
Let’s make a list of the times when taxes have gone DOWN.
Not much of a list, eh?
Life as a Midwest Property Owner is good. I got $200 BACK on my property taxes this year, and my little farm’s value went UP.
Go figure. :)
;^)
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