Expect higher amounts on tax bills

New millages in EBR, along with real estate reassessment in 2012 contribute to increases

Property owners in East Baton Rouge Parish, especially those in the Baton Rouge city limits, probably noticed a spike in their property tax bills, which were disseminated early this month.

The reason for the increase is two-fold: Additional taxes passed this year, and increasing property values with 2012 being a reassessment year, Tax Assessor Brian Wilson said Thursday.

Property tax bills are delivered by the Sheriff’s Office in December and reflect taxes assessed by dozens of agencies, depending on where the property is. The deadline to pay property taxes is Dec. 31.

This year, two new property taxes went into effect: the 10.6-mill Capital Area Transit System tax passed by voters in Baton Rouge and Baker in April, and the 10-mill property tax to supplement the Chaneyville Fire Protection District, which passed in November 2011.

The CATS tax, which failed in the city of Zachary, is expected to generate $16.3 million for CATS, Wilson said.

The total taxable assessed property value in East Baton Rouge Parish in 2012 was $3.5 billion, a $179 million increase over the 2011 total taxable assessed property value of just less than $3.4 billion, Wilson said.

The reassessment accounted for $100 million of the increase, he said, while new construction growth was responsible for $79 million of the increase. The taxable assessed property value of new construction growth from 2010 to 2011 was about $60 million.

“I think it (new construction growth) shows we are improving each year,” Wilson said.

Wilson said he could not provide an average percent increase in taxes or in property values.

Assessments reflect a percent of the fair market value of a property and are used to calculate property owners’ ad valorem or property tax bills annually. Property taxes are levied on assessed value of personal property or real estate.

For residences, the assessed value of a property and land is 10 percent of market value.

All parish residents also likely saw some sort of tax increase as a result of the reassessment.

Reassessments occur every four years when officials reassess the individual value of the property in the parish. Property tax bills are based on their assessed values, so when assessments go up, so do taxes.

Taxing agencies can mitigate these tax increases by choosing to roll back their millages.

After a reassessment, millages are automatically rolled back so the taxing agencies receive the same amount of money as the year before, despite increases in property values.

But several agencies voted to roll forward their millages to the previous rate and receive the windfall of tax revenue.

All parish property owners were impacted by the Emergency Medical Services and Sheriff’s Office’s decisions to roll forward their millages. Those were the only parishwide taxing agencies to roll forward.

The following local agencies also rolled their millages forward, but the roll forward only affects certain parts of the parish: Fire Protection District 1, Brownsfield Fire Department, East Side Fire Department, District 6 Fire Department, Pride Fire Department, Alsen Fire Department, East Baton Rouge Parish school system, the Baker school system, Zachary school system, Baton Rouge Fire Pay Enhancement Fund and the City of Zachary.

The next reassessment will be in 2016.

Wilson gave examples of what the new taxes, which took effect this year, would cost property owners.

For a home valued at $100,000, with the state’s homestead exemption, the CATS tax increased the property tax bill by $26.50, Wilson said. For a $200,000 home, CATS tax increased the property tax bill by $132.50; by $238.50 for a $300,000 home; and by $344.50 for a $400,000, the assessor said.

The Chaneyville Fire Protection millage affects far fewer people. The district encompasses 87 square miles of mostly rural Deerford, Tucker, Milldale and Blackwater areas east of Zachary. Chaneyville already had a 10-mill property tax in place, but voters approved an additional 10 mill tax late last year.

The millage goes into effect this year, because the election was too late in 2011 to meet the December collection period, Wilson said.

For Chaneyville property owners with the homestead exemption, the additional 10 mills added $25 to the bill for a property owner with a home valued at $100,000; $125 for a $200,000 home and $225 for a $300,000 home, Wilson said.

Property taxes are due by no later than Dec. 31, according to the Assessor’s Office website. Interest at the rate of 1 percent per month on the unpaid balance plus cost of collection will be added if tax bills are delinquent after Dec. 31.

Residents can view their tax payment status or pay taxes online at http://www.ebrso.org.

The Sheriff’s Office tax office will be open on New Year’s Eve from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Comments

1) Comment by Attila - 14/12/2012

@DMJ: Since you are so pro property tax increases it makes me wonder if you are a property owner or a renter...either way you are just plain wrong, man.

2) Comment by tradewinns - 14/12/2012

took a moment but i found the property taxes we are 4th from the bottom as we are with avg, income. they seem to go hand in hand huh?

3) Comment by DMJ - 14/12/2012

Google: states with lowest property tax burden. Go ahead. We'll wait...

4) Comment by tradewinns - 14/12/2012

if it's only $16.67 a month, why don't you pay mine? after all it's only $16.67. if you would have asked detroit 20-25 years ago how things were going, you would have gotten a completely different answer than today. now they want to know when obama is going to send them some federal money, they're broke (but still spending). does the governments of LA pay road use taxes? i really don't know ao i'm asking. how progressives work is the same as the old arab tale about never let the camel get his nose in the tent. the camel will continue to persist in advancing and before long he is in the tent and you're outside. look at the "free cell phone" program, that started as a land line in public housing so tenents could call 9-1-1. total cost nationwide $2-300K a year. last year the free cell phone program cost the american taxpayer $1 BILLION dollars (starting to talk about real money huh?) california just expanded the federal free cell program to the homeless so you can anticipate another jump in cost. (where are they going to charge the phones?) this was exposed last year. do you know how many bills have been introduced in congress to curtail this abuse? NONE!

5) Comment by BRmoderate - 14/12/2012

Why would anyone want to live in EBR? High property taxes, terrible schools, horrible street and interstate traffic, bad crime...What value added items are EBR tax payers receiving? Please tell me... So, gumbo your commute is five minutes saving gas money and headaches....did you also fork out tens of thousands of dollars to send your children (if you have them) to private school bc you couldn't trust the EBRPSS?

6) Comment by phil - 14/12/2012

DMJ - A volunteer army works so why not a volunteer tax system? Back to calling me "bub" again? Sorry if I hit a nerve. I think I have made my point here - so see ya later. Merry CHRISTmas and Happy New Year!

7) Comment by phil - 14/12/2012

If I am getting weird it is a result of the weird "progressive" environment in BR. Actually, for the record, I am NOT against all public transit, just against buses that run around empty all day and against people who expect me to pay for it.

8) Comment by phil - 14/12/2012

DMJ I think because you apparently have an extra $16.67 a month in spare change, you think everyone else does too. That is an incorrect assumption. Perhaps you need to walk a mile in someone else's shoes - someone who does not have a lot of spare money to spend like you apparently do. Also I personally think some tea parties have been taken over by special-interest groups and big- money organizations who have forgotten why tea party groups actually started to begin with.

9) Comment by DMJ - 14/12/2012

If a volunteer tax system was feasible, then we wouldn't need an actual tax system. Also.. public transit is "progressive junk"? That's just weird, phil. Getting weirder, bub. Gettin' worried...

10) Comment by phil - 14/12/2012

Here is a hypothetical method to get rich. Add housing/property codes and increase code enforcement and associated fines. Increase property taxes (and fees). Increase the method to call property "blighted". Take over large blocks of property as a result of non-payment of property taxes and of code violation fines etc. Redevelop the property. Make partnerships with large companies who are in the redevelopment property improvement business. Redevelop the property and either own it, run it or or sell it. Make big profits and make a fortune. This works really well in the poorer areas. Everyone loses money and their property except for some large companies and some individuals. This is just a theory of course.

11) Comment by DMJ - 14/12/2012

$200/year divided over 12 months is....$16.67/month. Surely, someone who owns property can afford this. Unfortunately, there aren't enough progressives in EBR to pay for public transit by themselves. We'll need the Tea Party Patriots' money as well...

12) Comment by gumbo33 - 14/12/2012

My property taxes went up, but the overall selling price of homes in my area probably dosen't justify the increase. Saying that, I think it is silly to expect that areas outside of BR, the greenfield opportunity expansion zones into Ascension and Livingston Parishes, will not have enormous issues in the very near future. Those area's repeatedly vote down smart planning & taxes even though the infrastructure is inadequate and the schools will begin to see crowding. You also have the indirect "commute" tax. That is the time and expense of driving to and from work, school and shopping. I life 10 minutes from work my work, 5 minutes from daycare, walking distance from a park in a neighborhood with easy access to Airline, I-12, I-10, downtown, LSU, etc...So the money I save and the stress of an hour commute, I would gladly trade for a property tax bump.

13) Comment by phil - 14/12/2012

tradewins -also look into who is actually making money building and running all of that HUD housing etc with federal funds. The rich get richer while the poor get poorer (and the poor then have to move into federal housing projects). Its much more complicated than it appears on the surface, I think.

14) Comment by phil - 14/12/2012

People who say that the CATS tax will ONLY add $75 to $200 per year probably have that and more extra money to spend with no problem. Add all of the increases together, including taxes, insurances etc and you end up with much more than just $75 to $200 per year. The middle class is getting clobbered. If you have so much extra money that $75 to $200 more in expenses a year will not hurt you, then how about we just go to a volunteer tax system let the well off "progressive" folks pay for all of that "progressive" junk that we do not really need.

15) Comment by phil - 14/12/2012

Some assessments went up a lot (during this recession?) and some property is only worth about $100,000, and their property taxes went up about $250 per year. How about explaining that situation in this article too. I think many people got hit with a LARGE overall property tax increase that is larger than explained in this article. By the way, when the CATS tax is actually found to be illegal in the courts, will taxpayers get a refund? Property taxes are really unfair and many property owners will possibly need to look for greener pastures to live in as taxes increase in Baton Rouge because of all of the planned additions by the "progressive" groups. Then there are those added fees that are collected like property taxes but are not considered to be property taxes. If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck,,, Being_stupid, you are not being stupid on the crime prevention district issue. You are right. I admit the homestead exemption is a big mess, but to be fair shouldn't the homestead exemption be able to be "rolled " just like the millages are rolled forward? I think the homestead exemption should increase or decrease with inflation, especially since taxpayers do not have the option to roll their own millages one way or the other. Get prepared to see another large proposed tax proposition, since the same Mayor will likely repeat what was already tried in the past.

16) Comment by gumbo33 - 14/12/2012

Tradwinns, I have to laugh at your comment about EBRP residents looking to sell. You either don't get out much or you get all of your info from 2nd and 3rd hand sources that don't get out much either. To your point: There are many other factors at play in the declining Rust belt, Midwest economies. Much of this began 30-40 years ago. White flight is one major reason. Prior to this,the decline of small agriculture and farming led to the subsequent migration of poor whites and blacks to the cities looking for work. Many people don't realize that Detroit was a heavily agricultural society until the 1940's (it is in it's roots). Eventually many (mostly whites) found employment in factores building cars and such. Soon factories moved out and/or cut workers by the tens of thousands. Detroit is the poster child for what can happen to ANY city, but it is unlikely to happen in Baton Rouge anytime soon. BR city limits has a strong white (and black) middle class and large pockets of wealth that aren't going anywhere. Sure there are some issues, but I think people blow things out of proportion. Additionally, our footprint isn't nearly the size of Northern and Mid-Western cities like Detroit, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Kansas CIty or Chicago. In fact Cincinnati, Columbus and even Pittsburg (traditional rust belt cities) are doing rather well at the moment. Not to mention that if you move out of the city you probably would be bored out of your mind with nothing to do. Lots of people like to be near bars, restaurants, shopping, museums, parks, libraries, etc.

17) Comment by Being_Stupid - 14/12/2012

The Non-Municipal CATS Tax is homestead exempt, but for some reason these Non-Municipal Crime Prevention Districts are not homestead exempt.

18) Comment by DMJ - 14/12/2012

You all would do well to remember that the CATS tax only added an additional $75 - $200/ year on your property tax bill. The lion's share is because of the 2012 reassessment, which has nothing to do with voter approved taxes. Also... tradewinns, you do realize that property values increasing is exactly the opposite of what happened in cities like Detroit, right?

19) Comment by tradewinns - 14/12/2012

your local republican party members only get one vote each. i doubt many republicans voted for ANY tax increase. however your friendly,"we want more", democrats voted by the bus load for a tax they think will miss them. and for those in public housing and sec. 8 housing and all the other housing programs, they are probably correct. for those poor suckers at the bottom of the work ladder trying to get ahead in the world, they will either have to pay higher taxes or see their rent go up as the property owner isn't absorbing the tax, it's passed on to the renter. the smart homeowner is looking to sell and get outside of EBRP, as it's beginning the steep decline, like some of the major cities up north.

20) Comment by Being_Stupid - 14/12/2012

I really enjoy being forced to hand over $500.00 to the local Neighborhood Gestapo every December at Christmas Time. $500 to a group of dictators that bully the entire neighborhood around. Thanks Local Republican Party.

21) Comment by Being_Stupid - 14/12/2012

I want to thank the Self-Appointed Neighborhood Association and LOCAL REPUBLICAN STATE LEGISLATORS, Dan Claitor, Steve Carter, Franklin Foil, Hunter Greene, Erich Ponti for raising everybody's property taxes by $100 at Christmas Time. Instead of $100 to buy Christmas Presents, I get to fork it over my money to a small group of nosy busy body dictators that rule my neighborhood, all thanks to the Local Republican Party.

22) Comment by Cousin Dave - 14/12/2012

If the reporter who wrote this article owned any property in Baton Rouge, she would know that Assessor Brian Williams and his fine staff actually sent out notices with each property owner's estimsted taxes several months ago, so no one should have been surpised when they received the actual bill a couple of weeks ago. I don't like paying higher taxes, but I appreciated the advance notice so I could make the necessary adjustments in my mortgage payment. This is really old news at this point.

23) Comment by foldgers - 14/12/2012

Yeah DMJ, it's great that I bring home $40k a year and my property taxes jumped $800 this year over last. I am not crying in my pillows, but in this economy, can you afford $800 more a year in taxes? But hey, being a property owner, I guess it is only fair that I pay my fair share...

24) Comment by DMJ - 14/12/2012

Tea Partiers will be crying in their pillows tonight...