By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
The city tax office at city hall was doing a brisk business today, as residents hustled to pay their property tax bills before the 5 p.m. deadline.
Tax payments were being received at the first floor utility payment window at city hall. The window was to close at 4 p.m., but city officials said payments left in the drop boxes – the one by the sidewalk outside or one inside near the payment office – will be considered on time if dropped in the box by 5 p.m.
Credit card payments may be made online through xpressbillpay.com or by calling 907-747-1818. Penalty and interest will be applied if the payment isn’t made or postmarked by 5 p.m. August 30, the city said.
Shirley Robards pays her property taxes Tuesday at City Hall. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)
This year’s tax rate is unchanged at 6 mills (.6 percent of assessed value).
Bills went out July 1, 60 days in advance of the due date. The notices included information about penalties for late payments.
City Assessor Larry Reeder said there have been some questions about assessments, and his office has conducted some reviews. One appeal was received and resolved before going to the Assembly as a formal appeal, Reeder said.
In May the Assembly certified the assessment rolls as of January 1, 2022. They showed $1,128,727,700 in taxable real property and $56,380,040 in personal property. The real property roll includes the value of taxable land and building improvements minus the value of the senior and veteran-exempted properties. Personal property includes business equipment, supplies, floathouses, and similar items.
Reeder said there was an overall 1.008 percent increase in assessed value of all property, mostly due to new construction and reappraisals of some parcels.
Real property assessments increased by 1.0095 percent and personal property went down 1.027 percent, mostly due to depreciation.
A staff member in the tax office characterized the day as “quite busy,” but not out of line with a typical deadline day.
“There’s always a last minute rush,” he said. “There’s a lot of people coming in.”
Some calls were received also in the last week, including from people who didn’t get their statements.
The city relies on sales tax and property tax revenues to finance the city general fund, covering such services as schools, police and fire departments and the library, as well as city government administration.
City Finance Director Melissa Haley said, “While we rely heavily on sales tax, during the pandemic we saw a decrease in sales tax. Property tax is much less sensitive to those kinds of external pressures.”
Figures for fiscal year 2023 show $7.3 million in property tax revenue in a $32 million general fund budget. Some $8.8 million from the general fund budget will go to schools, Haley said.
“The general trend is assessments are going up, but the impact of assessments going up is being tempered by increased exemptions,” she said. Those are mostly new senior exemptions, she said. Other exemptions are for veterans, state land and community purpose exemptions for some uses approved by the Assembly.
Reeder said the city started doing reappraisals last year and is continuing this year. A notice from the city said starting in July the assessing department is out reappraising property on the south end of town, which is generally the Sawmill Creek area.
“We‘re out there making sure our record is accurate,” he said.
He said state law requires assessors to value taxable property at 100 percent of its true and fair market value, which is the amount of money a willing buyer would pay a willing seller, “taking into account all uses to which the property is adapted and might be applied.”
“State law requires us to keep assessments at 100 percent of market value – that never happens but we’re pointed to that goal,” Reeder said.
