Tax bills for county residents reflect lower real estate tax rate

by Doug Thompson

Although Floyd County is reducing its real estate tax rate to try and offset increases in property tax assessments, some property owners found an increase in the amount of taxes due for the first half of 2010.
Some found a slight reduction in taxes while most county residents found their tax bills pretty close to what they paid semi-annually in 2009.
It depends on the actual increases in property values from last year’s re-assessment.
County Administrator Dan Campbell told supervisors at last week’s budget work session that the drop of the real estate tax rate from 60 cents per hundred dollars in valuation to 47 cents should equalize the taxes for this year for most Floyd County property owners.
But not all.
“This is based on averaging out the tax assessments,” Campbell said. “Some bills will be above the average; others will be below.”
Campbell also warned the supervisors that this will probably be the last year they can hold the line on taxes.
“The county is being asked to pick up more and more of the cost of government as funding from other sources is reduced,” he said. “Next year we will probably have to look at an increase.”
Some property owners say the increase is already here.
“My taxes went up 17%,” said county property owner Jeff Blakely. “I’m not sure what Dan Campbell is referring to when he says this will be the last year the county can hold the line on tax increases.”
Blakely said he’s not complaining but feels “a little straight talking is in order. I understand that the county needs more revenue, but to issue statements about ‘holding the line’ when there already has been a tax increase is disingenuous.”
Tax bills actually went out before the county set the new tax rate but reflected what Campbell has proposed to the board. The county has a public hearing on the new budget scheduled for Wednesday, May 19 and final passage of the new budget and setting of the tax rate will occur after the hearing.
But because the county went to twice-a-year tax billing in 2006 the first year’s installment bills go out before the tax rate is officially set.
Supervisors continue to work on refining the $34 million plus budget for the new fiscal year which begins on July 1 and have cut funding for fire and rescue operations by 10 percent along with a reduction of funding for the county’s contribution to the Agricultural Extension office for the first time ever.
“It’s a tight budget,” Campbell says.
The last time the county raised taxes, two incumbents who voted for the tax increase lost in the next election.
Other area jurisdictions, including Franklin and Montgomery counties along with the city of Radford, have raised taxes this year.