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real estate taxes is held constant, when assessments go up, the tax rate goes down, and peoples taxes stay the same.
However, as discussed above, the sum of money needed is determined not only by how much the county spends but by other revenue sources that can be applied against county spending before arriving at the amount which must be raised by taxes.
Even if the county were to hold spending constant, if revenue received by the county from state and federal sources is reduced, this will serve to increase the amount of money the county must raise through taxes. The county has little or no control over these outside sources.
To encourage that real estate taxes remain relatively constant in the year a reassessment takes effect, state law requires in that year an “equalized” tax rate be determined; that is to say, a tax rate that would generate no more than 101% of the revenue generated by the previous years’ tax rate.
While this new tax rate might well affect individuals differently (i.e. some people’s property will have appreciated more than other’s) the overall effect would be to keep peoples’ taxes, on average, from not increasing by more than about 1%.
Should the Board of Supervisors deem that they need tax generated revenue in excess of the 101% figure, they must give notice of their intent to do so in the newspaper and hold a public hearing on the issue.
There will be advertisements in the Rappahannock News in late April through early May announcing both what the equalized rate would be and the proposed new tax rate (if different).
Should you have any questions, please feel free to call John W. McCarthy, County Administrator, at (540) 6755330.
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