Tax rates across the county increased this year, but the impact that will have on your tax bill is not yet known.
The state approved tax rates this month for local governments, including cities, towns, schools, libraries and fire districts. The majority of those rates increased in the county for this year’s tax bills.
Local government officials say most of the higher tax rates are because of decreases in the values of properties in their area. In general, when values decrease, tax rates increase; and when values increase, tax rates decrease.
The majority of property values in the county changed this year because of a statewide reassessment, which updated the values of all properties in every county across the state.
After the reassessment, about half of local property values increased, and the other half decreased.
