Property tax changes, more harm than good?
By Rob Miller, Utah Democratic Vice Chair
Death and taxes are two things that we can count on. We may well ask are the new assessments and taxes in Davis County helpful or harmful? Taxpayers basically fall into four groups: 1. Older citizens on fixed incomes. 2. Middle aged citizens still very much in the work place. 3. Young property owners just starting out. 4. Commercial/Industrial and business property.
All taxpayers have the following common denominators: 1. Is my property worth what the assessor says it is? 2. Is the rate my property being taxed at justified by the government service I’m receiving? 3. As Davis County government currently exists, is a one-party system sensitive to public well being regarding taxation?
The answer to question 1 is no. Last year my property tax assessment claimed that my home was worth $378,000, while the lender who refinanced my home had it assessed for $269,000. Your property and my property is not worth what the assessor says it is and this is brought out by verifiable sales comparison data, also the fact that protested evaluations have received a reduction of sorts across the board.
The rate at which properties are taxed is set by the County Commissioners. With the current change in evaluation one might ask is county government providing additional services or a higher level of services that are currently in place? The answer to that question is also no. Ninety percent of Davis County now exists within the boundaries of corporate cities. As the county shrinks and cities expand one could make the conclusion that county services are being picked up by the cities. This should mandate a reduction rather than an increase in county taxes. This particular condition creates unnecessary and costly duplication in certain areas. For all the rhetoric we have heard about efforts to determine our property values there isn’t much being said about consolidating city/county services to eliminate overlap and duplication. A critical look should be taken regarding cost vs. benefit in many areas of county government.
Do we believe that, as Davis County residents, we should be happy to pay a certain percentage of what our properties are worth, justified only by higher costs in surrounding counties? Last year taxes in substantial areas of the county nearly doubled. When a public outcry ensued the county’s response was, “We’ve made a mistake so here’s your rebate.” This year many of your statements show another increase above last year’s and a whopping increase above the slight rebate received. What kind of trickery is this?
Our third and final issue is the crux of the entire dilemma. One-party rule in Davis County has not served us well. Our founding fathers realized the need for checks and balances. In Davis County we have not had checks and balances since 1994. Over the past 13 years Davis County officials have thrust egregious tax increases upon the public. The dereliction and outright incompetence promoted by one-party government clearly exemplified by the mishandling of property values has driven four commissioners from office, and still one-party rule persists.
Please join with me in the voting booth this November to bring responsibility and balance back to county government. Davis County voters have the power to make the needed change.
Property tax changes, more harm than good?
By Wade Farraway, Davis County Rep.Vice Chair
I can see why Todd Weiler asked me to fill in while he conveniently left on his vacation; this week’s question is a tough one. Anytime the way property taxes are assessed is changed there will be winners and losers. In this latest change no one in Davis County Government is to blame, in that it came about because of HB 54 Property Tax Assessment Revisions sponsored by representative Wayne Harper. HB 54 in a nutshell requires that counties of the first and second class use a computer assisted mass appraisal system to conduct their annual update of property values. The bill’s aim was to provide for a “uniform and equal treatment of parcels of real property throughout the county” every year.
HB 54 was hotly contested and had three substitutes before the final product passed the Utah Senate and House without a nay vote in its final form. This bi-partisan bill, when it passed and was signed into law by the Governor, became the obligation of the counties in its implementation.
This being the first year that the new tax assessment tool is in use, it is difficult to determine whether or not it helps or hurts the county. The goal was of course to bring fairness and equality into the property tax system by treating like properties the same. The problem here is that identical twins are rare and so are identical properties.
There are more than 90,000 parcels of real estate located in Davis County with an approximate worth of $8 billion that need to be evaluated annually. This Herculean task currently falls upon the County Assessor James B. Ivie who must somehow evaluate and assess a value to every parcel every year in a fair and equal way. This is not an easy task. Currently, these property taxes go to the Davis School District, State Basic School levy, Davis County, Davis jail bond, County library, water companies, sewer districts and Mosquito abatement to name a few. Obviously these are important entities that need public monies to function.
When it comes to taxes the Republican Party position in the Utah State Republican Platform is: We accept the necessity for limited taxation in order for government to perform and administer those services which meet essential public needs. However, we recognize that the power to tax is also the power to control, and believe that the best way to control government is to strictly control the amount of taxes imposed on the people.
We encourage further simplification of tax systems, the elimination of the estate tax, and broad-based rate reduction where possible.
The Davis County Commission – all Republicans – reduced the tax rate this past year as a good example of proper tax stewardship. Whereas we all know that the Democrats have not met a tax they haven’t liked.
By Rob Miller, Utah Democratic Vice Chair
Death and taxes are two things that we can count on. We may well ask are the new assessments and taxes in Davis County helpful or harmful? Taxpayers basically fall into four groups: 1. Older citizens on fixed incomes. 2. Middle aged citizens still very much in the work place. 3. Young property owners just starting out. 4. Commercial/Industrial and business property.
All taxpayers have the following common denominators: 1. Is my property worth what the assessor says it is? 2. Is the rate my property being taxed at justified by the government service I’m receiving? 3. As Davis County government currently exists, is a one-party system sensitive to public well being regarding taxation?
The answer to question 1 is no. Last year my property tax assessment claimed that my home was worth $378,000, while the lender who refinanced my home had it assessed for $269,000. Your property and my property is not worth what the assessor says it is and this is brought out by verifiable sales comparison data, also the fact that protested evaluations have received a reduction of sorts across the board.
The rate at which properties are taxed is set by the County Commissioners. With the current change in evaluation one might ask is county government providing additional services or a higher level of services that are currently in place? The answer to that question is also no. Ninety percent of Davis County now exists within the boundaries of corporate cities. As the county shrinks and cities expand one could make the conclusion that county services are being picked up by the cities. This should mandate a reduction rather than an increase in county taxes. This particular condition creates unnecessary and costly duplication in certain areas. For all the rhetoric we have heard about efforts to determine our property values there isn’t much being said about consolidating city/county services to eliminate overlap and duplication. A critical look should be taken regarding cost vs. benefit in many areas of county government.
Do we believe that, as Davis County residents, we should be happy to pay a certain percentage of what our properties are worth, justified only by higher costs in surrounding counties? Last year taxes in substantial areas of the county nearly doubled. When a public outcry ensued the county’s response was, “We’ve made a mistake so here’s your rebate.” This year many of your statements show another increase above last year’s and a whopping increase above the slight rebate received. What kind of trickery is this?
Our third and final issue is the crux of the entire dilemma. One-party rule in Davis County has not served us well. Our founding fathers realized the need for checks and balances. In Davis County we have not had checks and balances since 1994. Over the past 13 years Davis County officials have thrust egregious tax increases upon the public. The dereliction and outright incompetence promoted by one-party government clearly exemplified by the mishandling of property values has driven four commissioners from office, and still one-party rule persists.
Please join with me in the voting booth this November to bring responsibility and balance back to county government. Davis County voters have the power to make the needed change.
Property tax changes, more harm than good?
By Wade Farraway, Davis County Rep.Vice Chair
I can see why Todd Weiler asked me to fill in while he conveniently left on his vacation; this week’s question is a tough one. Anytime the way property taxes are assessed is changed there will be winners and losers. In this latest change no one in Davis County Government is to blame, in that it came about because of HB 54 Property Tax Assessment Revisions sponsored by representative Wayne Harper. HB 54 in a nutshell requires that counties of the first and second class use a computer assisted mass appraisal system to conduct their annual update of property values. The bill’s aim was to provide for a “uniform and equal treatment of parcels of real property throughout the county” every year.
HB 54 was hotly contested and had three substitutes before the final product passed the Utah Senate and House without a nay vote in its final form. This bi-partisan bill, when it passed and was signed into law by the Governor, became the obligation of the counties in its implementation.
This being the first year that the new tax assessment tool is in use, it is difficult to determine whether or not it helps or hurts the county. The goal was of course to bring fairness and equality into the property tax system by treating like properties the same. The problem here is that identical twins are rare and so are identical properties.
There are more than 90,000 parcels of real estate located in Davis County with an approximate worth of $8 billion that need to be evaluated annually. This Herculean task currently falls upon the County Assessor James B. Ivie who must somehow evaluate and assess a value to every parcel every year in a fair and equal way. This is not an easy task. Currently, these property taxes go to the Davis School District, State Basic School levy, Davis County, Davis jail bond, County library, water companies, sewer districts and Mosquito abatement to name a few. Obviously these are important entities that need public monies to function.
When it comes to taxes the Republican Party position in the Utah State Republican Platform is: We accept the necessity for limited taxation in order for government to perform and administer those services which meet essential public needs. However, we recognize that the power to tax is also the power to control, and believe that the best way to control government is to strictly control the amount of taxes imposed on the people.
We encourage further simplification of tax systems, the elimination of the estate tax, and broad-based rate reduction where possible.
The Davis County Commission – all Republicans – reduced the tax rate this past year as a good example of proper tax stewardship. Whereas we all know that the Democrats have not met a tax they haven’t liked.
