Friday, April 30, 2010

“Now a good time for China property tax: researcher” plus 3 more

“Now a good time for China property tax: researcher” plus 3 more

Now a good time for China property tax: researcher

Posted: 29 Apr 2010 05:11 PM PDT

Voters in Caddo and Bossier to decide property tax renewals

Posted: 30 Apr 2010 12:34 PM PDT

Posted: Apr 30, 2010 2:31 PM

 Voters in Caddo Parish and in Bossier City go to the polls Saturday to decide whether to renew four property taxes.

 Three of the property taxes are in Caddo Parish and provide funding for such things as mosquito control, juvenile court and courthouse operations. 

  Bossier City's property tax helps fund police and fire operations.

 The first property tax up for renewal in Caddo provides funding for operations of the health units, animal control and mosquito and rodent control. The second is used for operations of Caddo Juvenile Court and the juvenile detention center. The third is for operations of the Caddo Parish Courthouse and the parish's share of One Government Plaza, which it shares with the city of Shreveport.

  Bossier City's fire and police chiefs said layoffs will be necessary if the property tax that helps fund their departments isn't renewed.

  Polls open at 6 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.

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County seeks fee for property tax appeals

Posted: 30 Apr 2010 06:52 AM PDT

Click to enlarge

An Orange County administrator wants to impose a $30 per parcel fee on property tax appeals this summer to help offset the costs of administering the hearings and to discourage fraudulent and frivolous actions.

The proposal was made by Darlene Bloom, clerk of the Board of Supervisors, whose office administers appeals of property tax assessments.

The Board of Supervisors is scheduled to review the plan on Tuesday. If approved, the fee would take effect July 2, the first day property owners can appeal their 2010-11 tax assessments.

The fee is projected to raise an estimated $225,000 in a typical year.

It's now free to appeal your property taxes in Orange and 46 other California counties. But that's about to change as local governments grapple with one of the worst budget crises in decades. Orange County is joining at least 14 other counties in considering fees to cover a portion of appeal costs.

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A staff report on the issue states:

"For the last three years, the appeals numbers have reached 13,000 and above, and with these increasing numbers, the program costs begin to rise, quality assurance begins to diminish, and we are no longer able to resolve appeals within our goal of one year. … (Charging a fee) will provide some of the additional revenue that will be needed to process the increasing numbers of appeals."

darlenebloommug

Bloom

The staff report estimates that $30 per parcel will cover from one-fourth to one-third of the estimated $93 to $115 it now costs to process each appeal. This year's appeals are expected to cost an estimated $1.9 million to $2.4 million.

Appeals have almost quadrupled in the past three years as property owners reacted to falling property values upon which their taxes are based. The staff report estimated that local property owners file between 5,500 to 9,000 appeals in normal years. This past year, appeals are expected to reach about 20,000.

Appeals are expected to fall in coming years as home values begin going back up.

Roughly 24% to 41% of property owners got their tax reduce or settled with the Assessor's Office in the past few years, county figures show. But 60% to 75% lost their appeals. (See chart at right.)

In addition to easing budget constraints, a fee might discourage people from filing frivolous appeals, or filing and failing to appear for their hearing, the staff report said.

It also could discourage fraudulent appeals filed by scams that charge exorbitant fees to help property owners file appeals — often without checking on the validity of the appeal beforehand.

The staff report proposes that the $30 per parcel fee be waived for indigent property owners. The staff also expects that there will be nominal costs involved in setting up the fee system and notifying property owners about it.
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Five Filters featured article: The Art of Looking Prime Ministerial - The 2010 UK General Election. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Knoxville mayor proposes $164M budget with no property tax hike

Posted: 30 Apr 2010 12:52 PM PDT

KNOXVILLE (WATE) - Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam presented his $164.7 million budget proposal Friday with raises for many city employees and no property tax increase.

The mayor said the city's already conservative spending habits will become even tighter during Fiscal Year 2010-2011, which runs from July 1 through next June 30.

It's the second straight year the city budget will decrease to match falling revenues.

However, Haslam said the level of city services will remain the same with no layoffs. Only directors and senior directors won't receive raises.

The mayor emphasized that the city will continue taking the necessary steps to weather recent declines in sales tax revenues and stay on a sound financial footing.

The budget figure is lower than in the last two fiscal years. The mayor said the numbers reflect the current economic reality.

The city's local option sales tax revenues have fallen from $37.3 million in fiscal 2008 to an estimated $32.1 million this year.

Building permit fees, which reflect the future growth in property tax revenues, have also declined considerably.

Nearly half of the city's operating funds are dedicated to Knoxville's Police and Fire Departments. A large portion also supports the Public Service Department which maintains sidewalks, roads, rights of ways and ensures trash pickup.

In closing Mayor Haslam said that hard times aren't all bad because, "they force us to set priorities, ask hard questions, and act responsibly."

He indicated that his proposed budget accomplishes those goals.

Haslam, a Republican, is running for governor of Tennessee.

Five Filters featured article: The Art of Looking Prime Ministerial - The 2010 UK General Election. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.
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