Friday, April 12, 2013

News and Sentinel Reports Tax Caps "Cost" Allen County $41 Million

From the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel:


When Mayor Tom Henry announced a series of possible spending cuts and tax increases last month, he said the loss of $53 million in property taxes since 2009 gave the city no choice but to act.
Allen County property tax bills being mailed Friday will continue that trend, as the voter-approved caps are expected to reduce total government income by about $40.8 million – with the city taking by far the biggest hit at $15.7 million, according to county Auditor Tera Klutz.
Although most property owners will see a slight to moderate increase in taxes, in part because voters in Fort Wayne Community and other school districts approved spending in excess of the caps, the limits will nevertheless continue to impose a degree of austerity on local governments.
That's because the caps, originally approved by the General Assembly and later added to the state Constitution by voters, limit taxes to 1 percent of a home's assessed value, 2 percent for apartments and 3 percent for commercial and personal property. That means the taxes on properties already at the capped limit can increase only if their assessed value does, but the value of property in Allen County has increase by just 0.3 percent this year, Klutz said.
Next to the city, Allen County government will be most affected, collecting $6.9 million less because of the caps. Fort Wayne Community Schools will lose $6.7 million, Northwest Allen County Schools $3.2 million) and Southwest Allen schools $2.1 million. But because FWCS voters approved $119 million in building-improvement taxes not restricted by the caps, the school-related tax rate for property owners in the district could increase by 15 percent, Klutz said. As a result, taxes on a home assessed at $100,000 will increase by about $25 per year, Klutz said. Overall, homeowners in unincorporated FWCS districts may experience increases of 5 percent to 8 percent, while residents in incorporated areas will see increases of 2 percent to 5 percent.
Taxes in other areas will be affected by different factors. Residents in areas served by the Northwest Fire district whose properties are not at the capped rate may see a 7 percent increase. Homeowners in Aboite and Lafayette townships, Zanesville and Fort Wayne-Aboite can expect increases of less than 1 percent, while most other homeowners should see increases of about 4 percent, Klutz said.
Because of an increase in the value of farmland and increased tax levies, taxes on agricultural land could increase by 14 percent in some areas.
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