This week
the homeowners of
As your
Councilman or Clerk-Treasurer, I can tell you that I have done and will
continue to do everything in my power to keep our municipal budget as
low as possible and still provide you with essential public safety services and
a clean, growing community. In fact, in
the past two years, our local town tax rate has decreased 22%. In 2006 the local portion of your tax rate
(combined rate was $2.17 and of that .53 was
I know that
you are asking yourselves, your family and friends and your elected leaders,
“What happened? Why did our taxes go up
so much this year?” In most areas, the
greatest reason for property tax increases is an exercise called
“trending”. Trending is the process that
your township assessor went through to attempt to bring the assessed value of
your property closer to what its market value is.
Unfortunately,
in some communities, trending was not done on commercial properties at all or
to the extent it was done on residential.
Therefore, in those areas, homeowners are picking up a greater burden of
the overall property tax levy.
In addition
to trending the following are just some of the other causes for your property
tax increases:
1. Business Inventory is now completely
exempt from the property tax rolls. The
dollars once generated by this category are now being paid mostly by
homeowners.
2. The legislature capped the subsidy
they gave local governments to offset your property taxes (called the
PTRCs). (Property Tax Replacement
Credits) At the same time, they capped
these credits, they made more things exempt from relief from these credits,
like large school construction projects.
3. The state continues to spend more
for child welfare each year, which is an unfunded mandate for cities and
towns. This is a state run program that
counties have NO control over yet are required to pay for.
4. The legislature cut the State
Homestead Credit this year. While the
credit once was 28%, it has been lowered by the legislature to only 20%.
Cities and
towns across the state of
There are
many complicated state regulations that keep us, as cities and towns, from
running our local governments as cost effective as I know we can. The legislature needs to look at how our
budgets are approved and the structure for how we fund local government and
give us more authority and eliminate the state level bureaucracy that hampers
our ability to govern most effectively with your money.
Adopting a
plan called Hometown Matters is an
option that the legislature must consider.
This plan, developed by mayor’s, clerk-treasurers, town managers and
other municipal experts statewide is a plan to reduce our reliance on property
taxes, allow other revenue raising measures and create an environment for more
efficient local government.
What can
you do?
If you are concerned that there is an
error in the calculation of your property taxes, contact your township assessor
regarding an appeal.
If you don’t think you applied for all
of the appropriate property tax exemptions, contact your county auditor.
Contact your legislators about the
need for true property tax reform.
Again, municipal spending across the state has increased at less than 3%
over the past six years.
Locally, our town tax rate was reduced by 22%.
Contact
Information for Local Representatives:
Representative
David Wolkins
200
800-382-9841
Senator
Ryan Mishler
200
800-382-9467
100
574-372-2446