PROPERTY TAX NOTICES IN PULASKI COUNTY.

Pulaski County has sent out notices regarding new property values in Pulaski County. The Pulaski County Board of Assessors Office has been re-evaluating property values over the last few years and they have finally completed this work. AS PER CURRENT STATE LAW, the county is required to mail out notices of what the new property values are. Also required by law, the notices include an ESTIMATED TAXES based on the new property value multiplied by LAST YEARS millage rates. PLEASE NOTE: The ACTUAL millage rates have not been set. Each governmental entity (County, School, and City) all have to set their individual millage rates BASED on the new valuations. Each governmental entity can ROLL BACK the millage rates if they so desire. The county, city, school all need a certain dollar amount (total budget) to operate. The budget is then divided by the new tax digest to determine their current millage rates. (overly simplified example).

Therefore, until these entities set their millage rates, your current TAX BILL AMOUNT is unknown. The ESTIMATED Total Tax on the notice that you received is therefore NOT accurate. However, state law REQUIRES it be reported this way. This is a bad law and it has been changed but the new law goes into effect NEXT YEAR.

So….. Some OVERLY simplified examples: If ALL properties doubled in value and ALL budgets were the same as last year, then each millage rate could be cut in half and everyone would pay exactly what they did last year. Now again, this is an over simplification. The different government bodies MAY increase their budgets so this is yet to be determined. There may be limiting factors (I think such may be for the school system) that their millage rates HAVE to be a certain millage or higher. There are lots of extenuating situations, but this gives you an idea.

ALSO, it is important how your property’s value changed IN RELATION TO ALL OTHER PROPERTIES. Again – extremely oversimplified example, but if your property increased in value by 10% but all other properties (on average) in the county increased by 30% then you should see a 20% REDUCTION in your tax bill compared to last year (assuming same budgets, etc.). In contrast, if your property’s value increased by 30% and ALL other properties (on average) increased on 10% then you will see a much larger increase than your neighbors. So it is all relevant.

The main point of this statement is: YOUR TAX BILL HAS NOT YET BEEN DETERMINED. Each government body must determine its millage rate BASED ON THE TOTAL TAX DIGEST valuation. So regardless of the statement in the mail that is ESTIMATING your tax doubling or tripling, NO ONE KNOWS YET. The county is simply having to follow the letter of the law. Don’t panic yet.

And when the final tax bills ARE sent out, please notice the breakdown. Don’t blame the city if the school system charges more or visa versa. Don’t blame the county if the city raises taxes and visa versa.

Also, PLEASE READ the pink shaded letter included with the notices. It basically says in legalize what I am trying to say here in a little easier to understand format.

I hope this helps to lesson the panic involved with these notices. Even though I am aware of what I have just said, my personal notice indicated a more than doubling. It is hard not to be upset. But again – THESE ESTIMATES are NOT concluded yet.