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Why property values decline, and property taxes still go up
Published on Tuesday, Mar 24, 2009
What's driving the numbers? As reported Sunday by Beacon Journal staff writer Rick Armon, the foreclosure crisis, a sour economy and a fear of higher taxes are all factors. ''This is a scandal,'' Tom Lucien, an employed factory worker, told Armon, pointing to an increased value for commercial property he owns near the University of Akron.
Although the frustration is understandable, the cutoff point for reappraisals was at the end of 2007, excluding the difficult economic trends of the past year. More, the state won't allow counties to include sale prices of foreclosed homes in their calculations. That dramatically alters the picture in Summit County, hit hard by foreclosures.
At this point, the fury appears largely about higher tax bills. When new valuations were announced last year, residential values in the county down roughly 1 percent, reaction was muted. When John Donofrio, the county fiscal officer, went on a ''road show'' with the new values last year, about half the number of property owners showed up as six years ago.
What's more, a decrease in valuation does not necessarily translate into a decrease in property taxes, as residential and commercial owners learned this year. In Barberton, for example, residential property values fell 3.2 percent, but that was more than offset by tax increases, mainly a school bond issue and an increase for the Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services board.
The owner of a home with a market value of $100,000 before reappraisal would still pay almost $30 a year more in property taxes even if his or her home decreased in value by 14 percent.
Tom Lucien and others find themselves not so much in a scandal as in the midst of a complicated process that must be performed according to strict state standards. If the past is a guideline, most appeals will result in no changes. The county would do well to add a second board to handle the volume. Beyond that, there isn't much wiggle room.
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