I have heard a rumor that Orange County is set to significantly raise property taxes. Can anyone comment on this?
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Comments
Are you serious?
A "rumor?" http://www.orangepolitics.org/tags/taxesIt has also been in the papers about once a week for at least a month. Are you seeking thoughtful conversation or is this just another opportunity for you to complain about Homestead Park? (Tip: Call the Town and ask them why it's locked. Please do report back.)
Are you serious? riducule or serious discussion
Meiooow, Ruby! In the property-tax post, was there any mention of Homestead Park? NO.You, as founder, editor, and administrator, made and published that connection, in an attempt, in seems to devalue/dismiss the value of the post/contributor. In Drupal your subject like is restricted to 60 characters, and that's going to be a problem if you confront contributors the way you are doing. I can't remember the last time I subscribed to a "paper". That's what I use this medium for. Is there a rule on this forum that one cannot have more than issue at a time? If so, I think you should post it.I did enquire, and that's what I reported.1) Homestead Park = padlocked2) Discussion sought: Property taxes likely to be hiked in Orange County Are you providing a forum "for progressive perspectives" or smacking folk who introduce uncomfortable discussion? And, think hard about smacking contributors -- the "shoot yourself in the foot" rule applies.
Misunderstanding
The situation is that there has been a reevaluation of all property in
Orange County. That happens every 4 years. BUT...and this is what
people do not understand, just because their homes have been
reevaluated and now have a higher tax value doesn't mean they will have
to pay more property taxes. The commissioners have stated that, just as
they did last time, they will try and adjust the property tax *rate*
downward so they pay the same as before the evaluation.
I'd like to believe that, but ...
... I have lived here since 1990. Every time my property is re-valued by the County, they tell me the rate will be adjusted so as to make the re-valuation revenue-neutral. Funny, though, my property tax bill has gone up every single time, and in just the past 5 years, has gone up 31% -- WITHOUT the re-valuation.Care to place a bet that my tax rate, against my new valuation, causes my tax bill to skyrocket once again? This is what happens when you have uncontested, single-party rule.The BoCC is now accomplishing what the Orange County GOP has never been able to do: create a whole lot of angry people who'll turn Right at the next election. Republicans already account for about 1/3rd of registered OC voters, if my recollection serves, and with motivated independents, you suddenly have a viable political voice of opposition, for the first time in County history. As if that wasn't enough ...It's rank stupidity for them to box themselves into a corner with property values vs. rates. Before, with valuations below market rate, everybody had some room for discussion so few contested their assessments. But if the economy really tanks, as it looks like it might, and property values around here really DO go down ... the next re-valuation and subsequent "revenue neutral rate" recalculation will be a good bit uglier an affray than what we're now seeing.
whose ox is being gored
I have posted on this several times. The revenue neutral tax rate means that if your appraisal rises higher than average you pay more taxes, if it rises less than average you pay less taxes. The idea of revaluation is a fair distribution of property tax burden based on the value of the property. if you oppose property taxes, then no system is fair. That is certainly a valid position. For everyone person wanting to cut off a county commissioners tie (as was done at a Burke County commissioner meeting after a revaluation in the late 1980s) because their taxes went up, there is someone quietly happy that theirs went down. In Wake County, my property taxes dropped after the last two reappraisals because my assessed valuation rose less than the county average increase. Everyone in my subdivision had the same thing happen to them. None of us wrote letters complaining. There was plenty of noise from prime subdivisions who appraisal increased twice the county average, so their taxes went way up. An event that creates as many losers as winners is not likely to cause a revolution.
property re-evaluation
We had a very concerning tax re-evaluation notice. We recently added-on to our house and had our property appraised in November upon completion of the addition to roll the home equity loan and mortgage into a new primary mortgage. The county re-evaluated our property at $255,000. Our property appraised just 1 month prior at $205,000 -- this is all the property, not just the house. I took the appraisal to the county tax office and met with an assessor to correct what seems to be a mistake. The assessor basically said they would review the appraisal and we would find out the outcome in April, when they send out the tax notices.
I've had conversations with several people who seriously doubted significant increase in their property re-evaluation. Since we had evidence in hand that our property was over-valued by the county for taxation purposes, we could dispute, but what about everyone else? What about retirees living on fixed incomes? What about those who are recently laid-off? Because of the significant difference in the county's assessment and the appraisal, my faith in Orange County has significantly diminished.
There May Be a Good Reason for the Discrepancy
There may be several reasons for the discrepancy between the County Assessor's valuation and the private appraiser's. First, the Assessor did the revaluation during the year (2008) and thus even though you received the new assessment in January, your home very well may have been reassessed in August or September (or even earlier), several months before the private appraisal was done. Second, if the private appraisal was a bank-ordered appraisal it was almost certainly on the conservative side since banks (at least the ones who didn't go crazy) tend to want to minimize their percentage at risk. This is not to say that the assessor did not err but there may be a very reasonable explanation(s) for the difference. Hope you get the adjustment you're looking for.