Tuesday, July 20, 2010

“Property tax rate down in Deltona” plus 3 more

“Property tax rate down in Deltona” plus 3 more

Property tax rate down in Deltona

Posted: 20 Jul 2010 11:45 AM PDT

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PBC looks at raising property tax rates 9 percent

Posted: 20 Jul 2010 10:25 AM PDT

Palm Beach County commissioners on Tuesday agreed to consider boosting property tax rates as much as 9 percent to go along with spending cuts aimed at avoiding a $100 million budget shortfall.

This would be the second property tax rate increase in two years to head off a potential budget shortfall. Past county spending combined with a drop in tax revenue due to the struggling economy led to the ongoing financial crunch.

Tuesday's vote sets the maximum property tax rate commissioners can consider. The rate can still go down when commissioners in September take the final vote on the tax rate and the total $4 billion budget that takes effect in October.

"This is the starting point of where we want to go," Commissioner Shelley Vana said about the proposed tax rate.

Tuesday's vote would allow the potential property tax rate to climb from $4.34 per $1,000 of taxable value to a maximum of $4.75 per $1,000 for the county's share of property taxes.

For a home valued at $230,000 and eligible for a $50,000 homestead exemption, that would generate about $855 in county property taxes. That does not include taxes for schools, libraries, cities and other taxes levied on local property owners. That's up from just under $800 at the current rate.

Along with increasing the property tax rate, the county is also planning at least $50 million in spending cuts that would be shared by county commission-controlled departments and the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office.

To lessen the proposed property tax rate increase, commissioners on Tuesday picked a political fight with Sheriff Ric Bradshaw by calling for him to trim another $3 million from his budget to match other county cutbacks.

Bradshaw has already agreed to cut $25 million from his $500 million spending plan, which accounts for half of the county's operating budget.

Last year, county commissioners increased the tax rate nearly 15 percent. The commission had been considering a boost of as much as 13 percent this year, but proposed spending cuts have trimmed the potential increase to about 9 percent.

That's still too high according to business leaders and anti-tax groups who Tuesday called for the commission to cut deeper.

"Remember the residents scraping by just to make ends meet," Dionna Hall of the Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches told commissioners. "Make the decisions you were elected to make."

While the county's tax rate as proposed would increase, whether that translates to an increase in an individual property tax bill depends on the home value and when the property was purchased.

Andy Reid can be reached at abreid@SunSentinel.com or 561-228-5504.

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Tax man catches up with property owners

Posted: 19 Jul 2010 08:32 PM PDT

Some Cook County property owners whose new homes or buildings weren't on the tax rolls may soon face big catch-up bills thanks to an ongoing review, Assessor James Houlihan said Monday.

The review by the county assessor and 28 suburban township assessors so far has resulted in assessment changes on 252 properties that have been improved in recent years. Some owners of homes and commercial buildings never got a bill for anything but the vacant land below their buildings, so they can be charged for back taxes, Houlihan said.

Municipalities and township assessors are responsible for reporting building permits to the county assessor, which can then adjust the owner's share of the property tax burden. But sometimes permits are not obtained or otherwise go unrecorded.

"It matters because if a two-story home is being taxed as vacant land, the neighbors are making up the difference and pay more than their fair share in taxes, and that is wrong," Houlihan said.


Houlihan, who won't rule himself out as a potential candidate for mayor next year, also commented on a recent Tribune poll that found more than half of the city's voters don't want to see Mayor Richard Daley re-elected if he decides to run in 2011.

"The poll didn't surprise me," said Houlihan, who is retiring as assessor. Asked about a mayoral run, he said, "That political question will come later."

hdardick@tribune.com

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Tax man catches up with Cook County property owners

Posted: 19 Jul 2010 05:24 PM PDT

The review by the county assessor and 28 suburban township assessors so far has resulted in assessment changes on 252 properties that have been improved in recent years. Some owners of homes and commercial buildings never got a bill for anything but the vacant land below their buildings, so they can be charged for back taxes, Houlihan said.

Municipalities and township assessors are responsible for reporting building permits to the county assessor, which can then adjust the owner's share of the property tax burden. But sometimes permits are not obtained or otherwise go unrecorded.

"It matters because if a two-story home is being taxed as vacant land, the neighbors are making up the difference and pay more than their fair share in taxes, and that is wrong," Houlihan said.

Houlihan, who won't rule himself out as a potential candidate for mayor next year, also commented on a recent Tribune poll that found more than half of the city's voters don't want to see Mayor Richard Daley re-elected if he decides to run in 2011.

"The poll didn't surprise me," said Houlihan, who is retiring as assessor. Asked about a mayoral run, he said, "That political question will come later."

-- Hal Dardick

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