Property owners brace for tax hike

After four years of calm, a tax increase for county property owners could be brewing as some members of the Warren County Commission believe there is no way to offset the rising costs of doing business and the loss of industry.

?People expect government to wave a magic wand and make government operate for the same price every year even though everything else is going up in price,? said Commissioner George Smartt, who contends there is likely no way to avoid a tax increase this coming fiscal year. ?We have increased fuel costs and increases in requests from departments. Plus, we?ve been borrowing from Peter to pay Paul for years.?

Smartt said be believes the county commission will have to raise property taxes by about 10 to 12 cents. There has been no tax increase in four years, although a sales tax increase did add more money to the county coffers during the four-year period.

The commission will be receiving its requests for departmental funding and setting budgets throughout the summer. A vote on the tax rate won?t come until the August meeting of the county commission, which is after the general election Aug. 3.

Smartt believes some commissioners will publicly oppose a tax hike due to the election year. However, he believes it will just be ?political posturing? and that commissioners will likely have no choice but to vote for an increase.

While Smartt sees a tax increase, fellow Commissioner Gary Prater believes the county can operate without additional money from the taxpayers.

?I can?t support a tax increase,? Prater said. ?What do you do in any other business? They manage their money better. We can avoid a tax increase by better management of funds.?

Smartt disagreed during the impromptu discussion Thursday afternoon, saying areas such as the Warren County Jail, which is requesting more jailers, must be better funded.

?They are having to cover three times the space with the same number of employees and that?s just not going to work,? said Smartt, prompting Prater to say he believes additions there are not necessary at this time.

Somewhere between the two schools of thought is Commissioner Carl Bouldin, who says he will keep an open mind about an increase as the committee recommendations come in over the summer.

?Sooner or later there will need to be an increase,? Bouldin admitted. ?If government could run the way it did this year, then there would be no need for an increase. However, we have to look to the future and the impact of the industry that has left.?

Bouldin said he believes if an increase is necessary it would be better to do it incrementally, raising county taxes by around 5 cents this coming year and maybe 5 more cents the next year.

?I?d rather spread it out and see how the county is doing at the end of the year rather than raising it all at once,? Bouldin said. ?But first, before any hike, I want to make sure we?re at that point.?

Feeling the impact

The county?s current property tax is $2.31. Here?s how a 10-cent property tax increase would affect local homeowners annually:

Now at $2.31
? $50,000 home ? $288.75
? $100,00 home ? $577.50
? $200,000 home ? $1,155
If raised to $2.41
? $50,000 home ? $301.25
? $100,000 home ? $602.50
? $200,000 home ? $1,205