The Buchanan County Commission raised the county's general fund tax levy to .0845 on every $100 in 2009, from .0689 in 2008.
Even with decreases to the road and bridge and handicap tax levies, the general levy will go up slightly more than 1 cent per $100 evaluation for 2009.
The move taxes an additional $2.96 on a home appraised at $100,000.
"It allows us to generate the same amount of revenue we did last year," County Clerk Pat Conway said.
The commissioners hosted a public hearing on the matter Tuesday morning, though only three members of the media attended.
This year's tax levy should raise $939,369 for the county's general fund - $312 less than the maximum allowed by state statute.
The lower sales tax revenue for the year prompted the county to raise the property tax levy.
"This gives us some fluctuation," Presiding Commissioner Royal "R.T." Turner said. "When sales taxes drop, we can raise property taxes. It kind of brings some stability."
The presiding commissioner noted that if sales taxes went up next year, the property tax levy would drop accordingly.
The road and bridge levy drops from .2787 in 2008 to .2782 on $100. The handicap levy also falls - from .0977 to .0975.
Last year, the commissioners voted, 2-1, to raise the levy 2 percent, costing $1.58 extra on a $100,000 home.
R.J. Cooper can be reached at rjcooper@npgco.com.
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gopguy says...
"When sales taxes drop, we can raise property taxes. It kind of brings some stability." And this is why property taxes are criminal!
September 16, 2009 at 9:28 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
taxedout says...
Well that's pretty handy, just raise taxes somewhere else to make up the shortfall. I would hate for the county to cut back and scrape by like the rest of us. There is a reason sales tax revenues are down, people don't have extra money. I guess you either spend money you don't have on stuff you don't need for the sake of sales tax or just have your property taxes increased.
September 16, 2009 at 10:04 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
apmastrangelo says...
The predictable and common solution to nearly every agency; if we don't have enough or are falling short of what we want just raise the tax rate.
There are going to be some real surprises in the coming years over how the people feel about the elected officials of agencies that imply feel they can increase taxes because it is legally allowed versus making the hard budget decisions that would prevent such an occurrence.
September 16, 2009 at 10:29 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
teeter59 says...
TAX TAX TAX it is my point exactly. The powers that be, do not care how much they charge us, or how much is wasted or how much accountability they should use, because it is our money they are using, wasting and spending. Much like a child wielding an imaginary toy sabre. The sad thing is that the money is not imaginary. It comes from a source. The Government has gotten the idea that WE THE PEOPLE should fund every whim, every idea, and every cost whether we agree with it or not. Who decided to charge a tax based on items we already paid taxes for when we bought it? How can we continue to be taxed on something we already own??? The original plan to raise revenue was never meant to be a bottomless pit of money to fund everything under the sun.
September 16, 2009 at 3:03 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )