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Property Assesment
Will Dooley help struggling homeowners with lower tax assesments in 09? PDF Print E-mail
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Friday, 30 January 2009 02:33

Nancy Ellis, of Kirkwood, says, “I think retirees like me were hoping that the silver lining in the slumping economy would be a break in our property taxes.”

Nancy Ellis, of Kirkwood, says, “I think retirees like me were hoping that the silver lining in the slumping economy

would be a break in our property taxes.” (Dawn Majors/P-D)

 
 
 

If you're thinking that your property tax bill next year will be smaller than the one coming due Dec. 31, think again.

Despite the slumping real estate market, assessments here are expected to be down slightly, at best. And most school districts, which receive the bulk of property tax revenue, have ways of keeping their revenue stable from year to year.

Plunging housing prices that have made headlines for months have led many people to expect payback for 2007, the last year St. Louis County reassessed values.

Housing prices were higher at the time, and so were the reassessments — up on average 22 percent in the county, which sent tax bills soaring.
 

But news reports of double-digit drops in housing prices are mostly irrelevant, county officials say.

And indications are that such statistics are also irrelevant in the city of St. Louis, in Jefferson County and in most of the state, where reassessments are expected to remain flat.
St. Charles County, however, may buck the trend with significantly larger cuts in assessed values.

St. Louis County has its own method for determining a home's value, and from its perspective, the market here may not be as dire as reported.

That's because the county uses a computer system that may see an altogether different neighborhood than what a typical resident sees looking up and down the street.

The foreclosed house on the corner? The computer does not see that.

The bungalow across the road that was sold to settle an estate? Invalid, says the computer.
Last Updated on Monday, 09 February 2009 17:51
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Homeowners spoil for fight over taxes PDF Print E-mail
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Friday, 30 January 2009 02:30

St. Louis property tax bill

 

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ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
01/25/2009

Protests over property reassessments in St. Louis County don't usually begin until tax bills arrive in the spring.

But a groundswell of opposition has arisen several months early this year. Many homeowners, expecting their assessments to fall along with the housing market, have been irritated by a county official's expectation that assessments would be down only slightly, at best. And some values would even rise, county revenue director Eugene Leung said last month.

Since then, legislators and County Council members have been fielding complaints from constituents.

"I've had calls to my office and have also heard people complaining when I've been out and about in the community," said County Council member Steve Stenger, D-south St. Louis County. "The predictions from our local government that values will remain stable, or even go up — people are definitely troubled."

Council member Greg Quinn, R-Wildwood, predicted a severe backlash come May, when the tax bills are mailed, if assessed values don't decline.

"I'm already hearing a lot of complaints from people who thought their assessments were too high last time (2007) and who are going to be very angry if they don't drop this time," Quinn said.

Complaints prompted state Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Glendale, to file legislation that will require assessors in St. Louis County and the city of St. Louis to be elected, rather than appointed. Schmitt called the current system "flawed and out of touch."

Schmitt said Leung's assertion "defies common sense."

"People know that their homes are not worth what they were two or three years ago," he said.

At present, only three jurisdictions in the state — St. Louis, St. Louis County and Jackson County (Kansas City) — have assessors who are appointed. All other counties elect their assessors.
Last Updated on Friday, 30 January 2009 02:58
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Housing values plummet, but not tax assesments. PDF Print E-mail
Tuesday, 27 January 2009 02:42
CLAYTON — Homeowners in St. Louis County who believe the value of their property has declined along with some of the market here should not expect any assessment reductions until 2009.

Reassessment is done every two years, with no provision for interim action. (Individual appeals, however, can be made, starting in the spring.)

Officials do expect the 2009 reassessment to be nothing like 2007's, in which property values soared 22 percent and ignited angry protests from homeowners.

"The 2009 reassessment should not generate a large increase in value based on our analysis of sales occurring in today's market," according to the county reassessment staff's plan for 2009. "We do not anticipate a large number of residential properties increasing more than 15 percent" in value, the document said.

 

 

 

The county's increase last year outstripped the rest of the state, including the counties surrounding St. Louis County.

In the Ferguson-Florissant and Hazelwood districts, assessments increased by about 30 percent. Many other districts saw increases of 20 percent or more.

Figures from the St. Louis Association of Realtors show that average and median house sales prices last year declined compared with 2006 in most school districts in the county.

However, property owners won't see assessments that reflect the declines until next year. Under state law, property assessments for Jan. 1, 2007, stay on the books until a reassessment next year, said Eugene Leung, the county's director of revenue.

Just because an area's value is dropping does not mean a tax decrease follows. Many jurisdictions can be expected to raise their tax rates if assessments drop.

Some school districts here rely on the property tax for at least 60 percent of their revenue.

Patrick Lanane, assistant superintendent for finance of the Lindbergh School District, said that school districts are guaranteed by law to receive the same amount of money they got under the previous assessment.

Districts can increase their tax rates to offset losses in assessed value up to their voter-authorized tax rate ceiling, Lanane and Leung said.

Last Updated on Monday, 09 February 2009 17:47
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