County sets tax rates for property
 
BY PATRICE ST. GERMAIN
patrices@thespectrum.com
 
ST. GEORGE - Property owners in Washington County will see a difference in their property valuations when receiving their tax bills later this year, but it doesn't change the bottom line in what their payments will be.

To keep the tax base steady, the tax rates for most municipalities went up to compensate for the valuations that went down.

The certificated tax rates for the county and local municipalities were sent out earlier this week, said Washington County Clerk Kim Hafen.

Hafen said the bottom line for property owners in the county won't change by much unless a municipality decides to raise the tax rate.

"The way the law works is that valuations went down so the tax rate went up, ensuring the municipalities of the same revenue so the total won't change a great deal," Hafen said.

County Assessor Arthur Partridge said about 70 percent of the properties in the county are down in value between 10 and 30 percent. Those hit the hardest are the newer subdivisions where houses were over-valued and foreclosed and sold at distressed prices.

The county's taxable value in all real estate went from $13 billion to about $11 billion between 2008 and 2009.

Partridge said when people get their tax bills in August, the values will still be higher than current values as the county taxes at the value of the property as of Jan. 1 of each year.

Vacant land saw a greater decrease than lots with homes, he said.

An appraiser for 48 years, Partridge said he hasn't seen a cycle of high price spikes following a dramatic downturn in prices since the 1930s.

Partridge said the abnormal rises in values and the unrealistically high housing prices have now adjusted.

Because of the drop in house values, the certified tax rates go up, which keeps the property tax payments about the same year after year.

Partridge said in the late 1990s, the Utah Legislature passed a law to keep the property taxes steady for the school districts, which are the biggest user of property tax money.

Passing the law maintains fair market values for property for taxing purposes.

The law also ensures that municipalities know what to expect in property taxes to prepare their budgets with changes only taking place if a municipality sees growth or changes its tax rate by holding a truth and taxation hearing.

In Springdale, property values dropped 9 percent from $194 million in 2008 to $175 million this year.

Town Manager Rick Wixom said the community's certified tax rate increased from .000277 to .000341.

While the tax rate went up, with the decreased values on property, Wixom said the town will need to adjust its budget about $3,000 from what was estimated for property tax revenue to what the town should expect to receive.

Wixom said while the amount isn't huge, it's still a blow in an economy where every dollar counts.

Hurricane fared a little better with an estimated $2.2 million the municipality can expect in property tax revenue, up from the $2.1 million it received in 2008.

While the valuations of property were down, new growth compensates for some of the loss.

City Manager Clark Fawcett said last year, the property in the community was valued at $913 million and this year is $917 million.

But Fawcett said in the last few years, the dollar figures projected the town would receive for property tax revenue have been off Ð even allowing for some who may put off paying their taxes on time.

This year, because of the growth, Fawcett will have a slight cushion against any changes or those who may not pay their taxes, which may happen given the current economy.

County Treasurer David Whitehead said in 2008, the collection rate for property taxes was 88.11 percent. Hildale had the lowest collection rate with 49.40 followed by Apple Valley with 73.51 percent. The taxing area with the highest collection rate was the Coral Canyon area, which has its own taxing rate and had a collection rate of 96.60 percent.

Whitehead said in 2007 the collection rate was 90.41 percent and in 2006, 92.45 percent.
 
TheSpectrum.com
Originally published July 5, 2009
 
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