“State property tax adjustment bodes well for cities, schools” plus 1 more

State property tax adjustment bodes well for cities, schools

Posted: 24 Dec 2010 04:40 AM PST

SANTA CRUZ -- Local cities and schools are getting a bit of a holiday gift with a state announcement that property tax collections will be padded with a small inflationary adjustment next year.

While that may seem like obscure policy detail, the recommended 0.75 percent increase to property tax bills will translate into a few million dollars more for governments, schools and special districts in Santa Cruz County. Most have seen their tax revenues slip drastically in recent years.

"This is good news for the county," said county Auditor-Controller Mary Jo Walker. "We will have more funds for public safety and essential services with a higher inflation factor."

Other bright spots have emerged on government ledgers in recent weeks as well. Fewer tax delinquencies are projected across the county this year and county property values are expected to begin leveling out next year after unprecedented declines.

The inflationary bump announced for the 2011-12 tax year, which normally doesn't make headlines, is noteworthy because the property tax rate this year was adjusted downward to account for a lack of inflation. That only exacerbated the huge revenue losses local governments have seen with dips in property values.

Walker notes, though, that next year's gains for government come at the expense of property owners. For every $100,000 of assessed value, property tax bills will go up by $7.53. The increase does not apply to homes that are reassessed

for the billing.

As a result of the higher bills, county agencies will yield about $2.5 million more next fiscal year, according to the Auditor-Controller's Office. That compares to a drop of about $800,000 in tax collections that stemmed from a negative inflation factor of 0.24 percent this year.

Proposition 13, while capping property taxes at 1 percent of assessed value, allows the state Board of Equalization to adjust taxes by an inflation factor, not to exceed 2 percent.

Property taxes are one of the most important sources of revenue for local government.

How much property tax public agencies will actually see next year depends on the value of real estate, which has pushed the county's total tax roll down both this year and last -- the first declines in at least 40 years.

County Assessor Sean Saldavia expects next year's tax revenue to be relatively flat, the new inflationary adjustment factored in.

"The rate of decline is much less than what we saw a couple years ago," he said this week.

An official projection of next year's tax roll isn't due until spring.

The Auditor-Controller's Office is also projecting that fewer people will be delinquent on their property tax bills this tax year.

Two years ago, tax delinquencies in the county peaked at 5.6 percent, and last year they hit 5.3 percent. Based on the number of people who paid their property tax installment this month, county officials expect the delinquency rate to fall below 5 percent.

"I don't know if that means we've bottomed out in terms of foreclosures and delinquencies, but perhaps," said Walker. "It's a slightly good sign for the economy."

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Property tax rates rising in more than half of Ulster County's communities

Posted: 24 Dec 2010 12:08 AM PST

By PATRICIA DOXSEY
Freeman staff

PROPERTY owners in just over half of the municipalities in Ulster County will see their county tax rates increase under the county's $347.9 million budget for 2011.

According to documents released Thursday by the Ulster County Office of Real Property Tax Service Agency, tax rates will rise in 11 communities. The largest hike will be in the town of Marlborough, where the tax rate will rise 5.6 percent.

County property tax rates will drop next year in the remaining 10 communities. Property owners in Saugerties will see their county tax rate drop 14.7 percent, the largest decrease in the county.

The county expects to generate $76,944,960 in property tax revenue in 2011, the same amount as in 2010.

The change in the property tax rates, therefore, is the result of a shift in the assessed values of each community. The changes in the amount residents pay in property taxes will depend on whether the assessed values of those properties have changed, said Dorothy Martin, director of the Real Property Tax Service Agency.

"The levy stayed the same, so it's all in the distribution of the taxes," she said.

For example, she said, although the county tax rate in Saugerties is dropping, the assessed values of properties there have risen due to a recent property revaluation. If property values increased more than the tax rate dropped, she said, those residents still could see an increase in the amount they pay in taxes.

In the town of Lloyd, where the tax rate is dropping by 1 percent, property values also have dropped, meaning it's likely that residents will, in fact, see a decrease in the amount they pay in taxes.

county tax rates for 2011 will be as follows.

Denning: $21.53 per $1,000 of assessed property value, up 15 cents, or 0.7 percent, from the 2010 rate of $21.38 per $1,000. Continued...

Esopus: $3.92 per $1,000, up 19 cents, or 5 percent, from the current $3.73 per $1,000.

Gardiner: $4.74 per $1,000, up 11 cents, or 2.3 percent, from the current $4.63.

Hardenburgh: $5.90 per $1,000, down 3 cents, or 0.5 percent, from the current $5.93.

Hurley: $4 per $1,000, up 11 cents, or 2.8 percent, from the current $3.89.

Kingston (city): $3.91 per $1,000, up 18 cents, or 4.8 percent, from the current $3.73.

Kingston (town): $4.62 per $1,000, down 8 cents, or 1.7 percent, from the current $4.70.

Lloyd: $3.91 per $1,000, down 4 cents, or 1 percent, from the current 3.95.

Marbletown: $3.90 per $1,000, up 2 cents, or 0.5 percent, from the current $3.88.

Marlborough: $3.94 per $1,000, up 21 cents, or 5.6 percent, from the current $3.73.

New Paltz: $3.90 per $1,000, up 18 cents, or 4.8 percent, from the current $3.72. Continued...

Olive: $3.88 per $1,000, up 18 cents, or 4.9 percent, from the current $3.70.

Plattekill: $4.30 per $1,000, down 10 cents, or 2.3 percent, from the current $4.40.

Rochester: $4.06 per $1,000, down 21 cents, or 4.9 percent, from the current $4.27.

Rosendale: $3.92 per $1,000, up 19 cents, or 5.1 percent, from the current $3.73.

Saugerties: $3.93 per $1,000, down 69 cents, or 14.7 percent, from the current $4.62.

Shandaken: $16.89 per $1,000, up 8 cents, or 0.5 percent, from the current $16.81.

Shawangunk: $20.72 per $1,000, down 67 cents, or 3.1 percent, from the current $21.39.

Ulster: $5.25 per $1,000, down 14 cents, or 2.6 percent, from the current $5.39.

Wawarsing: $238.05 per $1,000, down 13 cents, or 0.05 percent, from the current $238.18.

Woodstock: $4.27 per $1,000, down 19 cents, or 4.3 percent, from the current $4.46. Continued...