Property reassessments don’t have to be greeted with fear
Under the regular six-year cycle, Warren County residents have had their property value reassessed this year. It’s a procedure local property assessor Carolyn Miller tried to avoid by meeting with state officials and asking for mercy.
Miller said the county is experiencing difficult economic times, and with Carrier scheduled to close next year, those tough times appear like they will get worse before they improve.
While Miller does make a sound point, property reassessments don’t have to be feared. That’s because most county officials realize that property reassessments will automatically result in a tax increase if the property tax rate is not adjusted accordingly.
This is not some obscure procedure. Lowering the tax rate to compensate for higher property values takes place about every six years. Failure to do so is equivalent to commissioners approving a tax hike.
While commissioners may in fact do nothing and allow a property tax increase to automatically kick in, that doesn’t appear to be the current attitude of county government officials. County Mayor Kenneth Rogers indicated he doesn’t think a tax increase is needed at this time and pointed to a windfall of money from the recent 3/4-cent sales tax increase as a main reason the property tax rate can stay put for the time being.
Commissioners seem to share the no-tax-increase mood because that also seems to be the overwhelming sentiment of Warren countians, and most Tennesseans, at this time.
Yes, a property reassessment will mean higher property values for most, and that might seem like an unwanted predicament on the surface. But that doesn’t have to translate into more tax dollars from our pockets if local officials take the proper action.