Falling home values affect property tax levy

The Wall Street Journal (12/18, A6, Merrick) reports, "Falling home values and rising property taxes in many parts of the country are generating the loudest complaints about property levies since the 1970s, forcing state and local officials to address the outcry even as the housing-market slump eats into many sources of their revenue." Although there was a 50 percent increase in local property-tax collections from 2000-06, according to Census Bureau data, a report released last month by the U.S. Conference of Mayors indicated that across the country, "falling real-estate prices mean local property-tax growth probably will slow significantly, and taxes could even fall in many places." Some jurisdictions have already seen the fallout, such as Marion County, Indiana, where "a spike in real-estate tax bills" following property tax reassessments in the county "caused a backlash this summer." Consequently, the Indiana governor "stepped in, freezing tax bills for Marion and several other counties at 2006 levels pending a new round of assessments."

From ICMA News Briefing