From the Munice Star-Press:
Property tax rates that will be used to figure this year's tax bills are up slightly for some areas of Delaware County, especially Center Township.
The rates were certified to the Delaware County auditor's office this week by the state Department of Local Government Finance.
The Center Township rate -- one of more than 40 rates for different areas of the county based on territories covered by various municipalities, governments, sanitation districts and other taxing units -- went up from $2.45 per $100 of assessed valuation to $2.67. The city tax rate went from $4.36 to $4.40.
The auditor's office said it was too early to say how the increased rate would affect tax bills due this spring. The new figures won't be plugged into the county's system until next week at the earliest.
It's also hard to say what effect, if any, government spending had on rates. County government, for example, set a budget that was $500,000 under its maximum levy of $20.5 million, Deputy Auditor Donna Patterson noted.
That means some rates might be up slightly because assessed values are down for some areas. Tax rates go up when assessed values go down.
While the overall assessed value of all the property in the county was $3.222 billion -- up from $3.214 billion last year -- the assessed value of property in the city was down from $1.631 billion last year to $1.609 billion this year, Patterson said.
Chuck Ward of PSC Associates, which has a contract to assess property for Delaware County, said no major taxable structures were demolished, and thus removed from the tax rolls, in the past year.
The city's former Chevrolet plant came off the tax rolls in previous years after it was razed.
Ward did note the overall county rate could be affected by a big increase in the value of agricultural land, which dominates areas of Delaware County outside the city, where values went up.
Agricultural land values, set by the Department of Local Government Finance, went up from $1,290 an acre to $1,500 an acre in the past year, Ward said.
Ward said the various factors -- property owner appeals over assessed values, a small amount of demolition and a lack of new construction -- play a role in assessed values.
Among tax rates around the county, most towns and townships outside Center Township will see lower tax rates. Yorktown's rate, for example, drops by 7 cents to $2.76.
http://www.thestarpress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012204070314
