From the Kokomo Tribune:
"Most property owners in Howard County will get lower tax bills in 2012, mostly due to higher assessed valuation and a 9-cent cut in the county tax rate.
The county’s property tax rate dropped 6 cents after bonds for the construction of the Howard County jail were retired and the tax rate for reassessment fell.
The only taxing unit to raise its tax rate was the town of Russiaville. It increased 3 cents to $2.90 per $100 of assessed value.
Tax rates for other townships, Kokomo and Greentown dropped between 6 and 38 cents for 2011 taxes payable in 2012.
The biggest decline was for Kokomo residents in Taylor Township, which saw a drop of 38 cents to $3.36 per $100 of assessed value.
The overall property tax rate for the city of Kokomo dropped by 10 cents to $1.52 per $100 of assessed value this year.
Howard County Assessor Jamie Shepherd said property tax rates fell 5 to 10 percent for the year.
Shepherd said assessed value increased as a result of the 2011 agreement with General Motors Components Holdings on personal property taxes and the stabilization of the assessed value with Chrysler Group LLC.
She said residential property owners in Howard County and Center Township will receive a one-time homestead credit of approximately $47 as a result of the GMCH settlement.
Howard County and Center Township voted to return the additional personal property tax revenue from GMCH to taxpayers.
Shepherd said many properties in Howard County won’t hit the circuit-breaker tax caps.
“There will be a savings to the taxpayer, and the governmental units will receive higher revenues,” she said.
Auditor Ann Wells said the areas annexed by the city of Kokomo will not pay higher property taxes until the 2012 taxes payable in 2013.
“This is the pre-annexation tax rate,” she said.
Wells said she expected the tax rates to decline because of the higher assessed value in the county."
http://kokomotribune.com/localmusic/x1690514797/Most-area-homeowners-to-pay-less-on-properties
