Every year, homeowners dutifully, if not begrudgingly, pay their property taxes. However, many of them don’t know how their dollar is spent.
Almost always, these funds go to support schools, build and maintain parks, and help support other local and regional services. However, each county budgets a little bit differently.
Although county offices actually collect property tax checks directly from residents, most counties actually only spend a small portion of that amount. In most cases, somewhere in the neighborhood of half of property your tax dollars are spent on local school systems. Some counties are more transparent about the way these funds are allocated than others. Here are a few examples:
King County, Washington recently published a news item on their website that outlines how property tax money is spent. 50% goes to schools, 31% to local services, 17% to King County, 2% to Port of Seattle. The 17% spent by King County supports regional services mandated by statute or voted on by the public: courts, jails, Emergency Medical Services, public parks, etc.
Springboro, Ohio residents may see a slight increase to their property tax bills in 2011. The city is spending $32,00 to repair the cities’ sidewalks and driveways. Residents will be billed for their portion of these repairs. Any property owner who is assessed this fee and fails to pay by a certain date will have this bill automatically tacked onto their 2011 property tax bill.
NBC 13 WTHR out of Indianapolis, Indiana recently reported that many residents of the state are seeing significant increases to their property tax rates, yet are unsure exactly where that money is being spent. WTHR breaks down how property tax money can be spend in the state of Indiana:
“Currently there are 2,370 property taxing units in the state. Everyone has at least five in their district such as Library, Township, County, City or Town and Schools. Schools have five different variables within that unit such as debt service, transportation, special education, capital projects and general fund. If you break it down by percentage the average would be around fifty percent for schools while the remaining four units make up the rest.”
Fort Lauderdale has announced a public hearing to gather input on 2011 budgeting priorities. A major decrease in property tax revenue is projected to put a $17.3 million dollar hole in the city’s budget. Fort Lauderdale officials hope that feedback from this hearing can help them budget in a way that can best serves resident’s needs despite the deficit. Fort Lauderdale is not the only tax district getting hit hard by declining property values. Cities and counties across the country are seeing a huge decrease in revenues as thousands appeal their property tax rates on the heels of the housing bust.
If you are interested in learning more about what services your property tax dollar supports, contact your County government offices.
Is your county spending your property tax dollars appropriately?
