Wednesday, August 4, 2010

“Property tax fails, changes ahead for Neosho” plus 3 more

“Property tax fails, changes ahead for Neosho” plus 3 more

Property tax fails, changes ahead for Neosho

Posted: 04 Aug 2010 01:33 AM PDT

Neosho, Mo. —

Neosho residents turned down a city property tax proposal Tuesday by 591 votes out of 2,669 cast.

The final ballot tally on whether or not to levy a $1 per $100 of assessed valuation tax on real and personal property within the city limits was 1,039 yeas to 1,630 nays, a percentage difference of 22 points.

Neosho Mayor Richard Davidson admitted he thought the final numbers would be closer, but said he took it as a message from the citizens to "make do with what you have."

"We've said all along that we have two options — increase revenues or cut expenses," Davidson said minutes after the final results were in. "We didn't get the option to raise revenue so we'll go cut expenses. I think the cuts that will be coming will be quick. I think the cuts will be focused on very specific areas. We'll do everything we can to make payroll and jobs the last thing that is cut. And we'll see how the city manager and city finance director work with the numbers and see what they come up with."

The city will face a financial shortfall next fiscal year of at least $1.2 million. Neosho officials have committed to coming up with a balanced budget by Oct. 1, as per state law, and the deficit must be paid off out of the general revenue fund, which pays for police and fire.

Davidson said he expects to see personnel cuts within five to 10 days. He said the city would do everything it could to minimize the negative impact on police and fire service. Asked specifically if any firemen or police officers would be laid off this week, Davidson said that would be up to interim city manager Harlan Moore and finance director Martha Mundt, but that the city would do "everything we can to avoid it."

"Neosho is going to see some drastic changes," Davidson said.

"The last thing we want to see is a reduction in (police and fire) service, we've said that all along, but I'm confident the citizens are going to see some significant changes based on the lack of finances. We will proceed based on what the voters' desire is."

The city council may now choose to use its state-delegated authority to levy a 42-cent tax on real property only, provided the levy gets certified by the state auditor's office. At last report, however, the Missouri Attorney General's office wanted to look into the legalities of the issue first. Those hoops have to be jumped through by Sept. 1, which is the deadline the council has to set a tax levy. Even should the 42-cent levy go through, the city would still be short at least $825,000 next fiscal year, which would have to be made up out of the general revenue fund.

Neosho resident J.C. Herrell has been a vocal opponent of the $1 property tax. Shortly after all the votes were counted Tuesday, Herrell said he felt like the citizens were telling city management "we've had enough."
He did note, however, that he wasn't against the 42-cent property tax levy, should the council be able to impose it.

"I'm not against the city," Herrell said. "I'm against the way this all came down in such a hurry and was forced on people. The people of Neosho want to slow down. We need to stop what we're doing for a minute and regroup. Nobody regrouped. Everybody just went out and said 'this is the way it's supposed to be.'"

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Laramie Co. property tax revenue to decline

Posted: 04 Aug 2010 09:09 AM PDT

Posted: Aug 4, 2010 9:49 AM

CHEYENNE, WY - Property tax revenue in Laramie County is expected to decline this year for the first time in recent memory.
This year's projected $63 million in property tax revenue would be a very slight decline, less than 1 percent. But it would be the first decline in a long while.
County Assessor Brenda Arnold says she can't remember property tax revenue decreasing in her 22 years of working in the office.
Arnold said Tuesday she expects revenue to rebound.
The value of homes and commercial properties increased slightly in Laramie County last year. The value of other taxed property declined 18 percent.
---
Information from: Wyoming Tribune Eagle - Cheyenne, http://www.wyomingnews.com

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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Property values plunge nearly $300M, but officials say tax hike unlikely

Posted: 03 Aug 2010 06:59 PM PDT

Property in Bibb County lost nearly $300 million in value last year, leading to a declining tax base and lower revenues for local governments.

The 2010 tax digest shows Bibb County lost $297 million overall in real and personal property value, dropping to about $11.866 billion. Losses were led by the county's industrial properties, which dropped at a rate of 9.2 percent countywide, shedding some $92 million in value.

The numbers are causing consternation in local governments, though officials are not predicting tax increases. Bibb County school board President Gary Bechtel said Monday the school system expects to set its millage rate Thursday night and doesn't expect a change from last year's rate.

Bibb County and Macon leaders said their tax collection figures are close to what they'd budgeted. Bibb County Commissioner Elmo Richardson and Macon Councilman Mike Cranford said they don't expect a tax increase or service cuts because the shortfall was close to the amount they'd expected.

Bibb County Chief Appraiser Andrea Crutchfield said much of the loss in value was from personal property, rather than in real estate. People haven't been buying big-ticket items as much as they had been, and businesses haven't been replacing equipment that typically depreciates about 10 percent a year, Crutchfield said.

"It's not a pretty picture," Crutchfield said.

In reality, Bibb County's property values aren't as bad as the tax digest numbers say. A state moratorium on revaluations allows increases only on new construction, but requires decreases for properties that lost value. Assessors downgraded the value of 25 subdivisions this year.

Overall, properties in the unincorporated parts of Bibb County fared worse than those within Macon's city limits.

Residential properties held the most value, losing about 1.18 percent countywide and 0.93 percent in Macon. Commercial properties fell 2.6 percent countywide and 1.26 percent in Macon. Industrial properties fell 9.21 percent countywide and 1.86 percent in Macon.

Georgia governments set their tax rate based on the 40-percent value of property, so a $100,000 home is taxed as if it were worth $40,000. The 40-percent figures were used in a story in Tuesday's Telegraph about the school system. Figures in this story are at 100 percent of valuation.

After exemptions are considered, Bibb County's tax base fell 2.36 percent and Macon's fell 1.19 percent.

Exact figures for the tax difference for Macon and Bibb County were not available Tuesday. Both governments' top elected official, chief administrative officer and finance director were an emergency management training session Tuesday.

Richardson said that "2.4 percent will be pretty close to what we projected. We won't have a problem."

Cranford expected the city's budget wouldn't need to be changed when the city sets its millage tax rate in two weeks.

"It's not going to be a significant change to make us want to alter the budget in any kind of way," Cranford said. "We'll just continue to be prudent with our spending and we'll be OK."

Telegraph writer Julie Hubbard contributed to this report. To contact writer Mike Stucka, call 744-4251.

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Muscogee County property owners should get lower tax bills this week

Posted: 03 Aug 2010 07:46 PM PDT

Property owners in Columbus will be mailed lower tax bills this week, thanks to a property tax rollback funded by the latest Local Option Sales Tax.

Deputy Tax Commissioner Tony Floyd said employees have been busy this week stuffing envelopes to mail 35,000 to 40,000 tax notices.

"We hope to finish this evening or wrap it up first thing in the morning," Floyd said Tuesday. "We are asking for a postmark date of Aug. 4, which means they will be on the street Thursday."

The rollback means property tax bills for this fiscal year will be lower than the amount paid in 2009. The roll back totals $30.1 million, the amount of money collect after the sales tax collection started in January 2009.

If you own a home valued at $100,000, the rollback will give you a break of about $290. A similar property tax rollback occurred for the first sales tax that went into effect in 1976.

After receiving property tax notices, property owners have until Oct. 1 to pay at least 40 percent of the bill or face a penalty. The 60 percent balance must be paid by Dec. 1.

While the city plans to mail tax notices by Thursday, Floyd couldn't specify when the bills would reach property owners. Last month, the mail processing operations in Columbus were moved some 96 miles east to Macon.

Columbus Postmaster Barbara King was unavailable for comment Tuesday on how the large volume of notices would be processed.

A week ago, U.S. Rep. Sanford D. Bishop, D-Ga., sent a letter to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Rep. Edolphus "Ed" Towns, D-N.Y., about the negative effects of transferring mail processing to Macon.

"Attempts by the Postal Service to improve productivity and increase efficiency have resulted in new procedures which have severely impacted postal service in the Columbus area," Bishop stated in the letter. "Especially impacted is mail originating from Columbus, Georgia, and destined for Columbus, Georgia."

Bishop noted that processing the mail in Macon could add up to three days to the time it takes local mail to be delivered back to the city.

"According to conversations with mail employees at the Columbus mail facility, there have been significantly more delays with mail, even though the Postal Service study suggested there would be an improvement in service," Bishop stated.

Ben Wright, 706-571-8576

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