Property Taxes Going Up In 2018

New statewide school funding levy takes effect

DAYTON – Property owners take note! Columbia County Assessor Chris Mills wants you to be aware of tax hikes in 2018 when a new statewide levy goes into effect. The purpose of the levy is to fix a state Supreme Court ruling that requires full funding of basic education.

Mills discussed current tax collections and the impacts from the new levy when she met with the Board of County Commissioners last week.

She said the current State Levy No. 1 collects 1.6 million in tax dollars from Columbia County, and qualified senior citizens, disabled persons, and farm personal property are exempt from that.

The county is also collecting $1,374,508, from the voter-approved, four-year school maintenance and operations levy. The last year for that levy will be 2020, Mills said.

The school capital projects bond levy is collecting $437,500 in 2017 and in 2018. The amount changes to $75,000 in 2019 and in 2020.

When both state levies are in place in 2018, Part One will be calculated the same as it has been in prior years, with only farm personal property exempt, Mills said.

Part Two will be the difference between the Part One rate and what it takes to bring the state overall levy rate to $2.70 per 1,000 of assessed value. Farm personal property, qualified senior citizens, and disabled persons are all exempt from Part Two, she said.

Mills based her calculations on the 2016 taxable values for the 2017 tax year, which shows an increase of .79/1,000 of assessed value in 2018, from 2017.

“This means for every $100,000 in value, you will pay an additional $79 in taxes to the State,” Mills said.

Mills said in 2019 state levy No. 1 is 1.90/1,000 of assessed value. The difference between the $2.70 state overall levy and the state levy No. 1, $1.90 rate is .80/1,000 of assessed value.

But in 2019 the Local M&O Levy is capped by the state at 1.50/1,000, and there will be a decrease of .40/1,000 of assessed value, said Mills.

Mills said local maintenance and operations levies which are now referred to as “enrichment levies,” will be the lesser of 1.50/1,000 of assessed value or $2,500 per student, as of the September school enrollment count. Dayton runs approximately 400 students, she said.