Your local TnT hearing will provide you a headache

Want a headache? Well, just attend a county truth-in-taxation hearing and it’s almost guaranteed.
After being bombarded with so many numbers in a rapid-fire format, is it any wonder people leave these hearings with their heads spinning. That’s assuming they attend these tax hearings at all.
Last week’s county taxation hearing was attended by about 40-50 people. The city of Glencoe taxation hearing the night before was attended by about three citizens and a bevy of city department heads and officials. No one spoke at the city hearing for the simple reason there was no use. Everything people came to complain about would have been shuffled off to the county anyway. The county makes the final decisions on valuations of property, the main complaint over local property taxes.
Attending the county hearing one learned valuations are determined mainly by sales of comparable properties (homes) during the past year or so. If a two-story home of a specific size sold for $200,000, then your similar home might increase in value to $200,000. Same with other homes like a story-and-a-half or a rambler.
But the valuation, according to Sue Schulz, county assessor, is just to determine your share of property taxes needed to run local units of government. The valuations do not determine the taxes, she stressed.
It is the members of the city council, county board and school board that determine what they need in local taxes to operate for the coming year. In the city of Glencoe’s case, it will be $1.536 million in ad valorem taxes (local property taxes) for 2020. Combined with debt service, the city will need $2.736 million or 7.5 percent more from city property owners than in 2019.
The county is figured similarly, and the commissioners are asking for an additional 8.9 percent from county property owners. The local share of its budget will be $24.76 million in 2020 compared to $22.6 million in 2019.
The Glencoe-Silver Lake School District also has its hand out to the tune of …. well, we’re not sure yet because the new fiscal year runs on a different calendar. Instead of starting a new year in January, the school district’s year begins in July.
Is your head spinning yet?
The reason I got so interested this year had to do with a 28 percent increase in my property taxes. That’s excessive. That includes a $21,000 increase in valuation on my property and a decrease in my homestead exclusion (credit).
The exclusion aims at reducing the tax burden on poorer property owners.
It seems the more your property increases in value, the lower your homestead exclusion (credit). How convenient. So the county arbitrarily increases property value and you lose some of your credit. Neat trick if you can get away with it. And the county does … every year.
Keep this pace up and I may have to move out of town.
So what can you do? Well, if you did not pay attention to the notice from the county auditor last spring about the appeal process, well, nothing. You missed the boat, like most of us.
So next time you get a brightly-colored notice from the county auditor next spring, pay attention. It will prevent the shock and anger that comes with the December truth-in-taxation hearings.
About the only thing you can do now is pressure your elected officials to lower their budget increase proposals. Does the county really need an 8.9 percent hike? No. Does the city need an additional 7.5 increase? No. Budgets can be trimmed before final passage later this month.
These government units want these increases, but they don’t need them set that high. Let them know. And while you’re at it, give them an earful on the whole property tax system.
If you haven’t guessed, yet, there was a tax burden shift to residential properties for 2020.
Got a headache yet? Thought so.

Rich Glennie was the editor of The Chronicle for 23 years. He retired Aug. 1, 2014.