Madison County Board could approve referendum on lowering maximum property taxes
The Madison County Board will decide whether a referendum to lower the county’s maximum property tax rate from .20% to .18% will be voted on in November.
The Madison County Finance & Government Operations Committee voted unanimously at a recent meeting to place a binding referendum on the Nov. 3 ballot that, if passed, would lower the county’s maximum property tax rate.
If voted on, the cut would be the county’s second in five years but won’t affect taxpayers immediately because the current tax rate stands at .163%. The county’s maximum levy under the current rate is $10,718,535.26. The maximum levy under the proposed rate would be $9,646,681.73.
The county estimates it will collect $450 million in property taxes in 2020, roughly $30 million of which goes back to the county government.
At a recent meeting of the Finance & Government Operations Committee, some officials debated over what effect the referendum may have if it is approved. County Treasurer Chris Slusser said the referendum would be financially safe for the county, even with the ongoing stresses from COVID-19.
“The only way it would have a major, long-term effect is if we saw a major shrinking our EAV, which we haven’t seen in a long time,” Slusser said. “As long as people are being good financial stewards I don’t see this as being harmful.”
The equalized assessed value, or EAV, is the result of applying the state equalization factor to the assessed value of a parcel of property. Tax bills are calculated by multiplying the EAV (after any deductions) by the tax rate.
However, County Auditor Rick Faccin called the referendum “meaningless,” and said that it would have little effect on people’s taxes due to other taxing districts making up a larger portion of people’s tax bills and the county making up only a small portion.
“If you vote for this, it’s not going to lower anyone taxes,” he said. “You can’t control what other districts are going to do.”
Slusser said the referendum is more about sending a message to taxpayers and other taxing bodies.
“We’re sending the message to tighten our belts a little bit and live within our means,” Slusser said.
The two officials did agree that the referendum would be “harmless” because of good financial stewardship from the county.
The county board will vote on the binding referendum Wednesday night during the monthly meeting of the board.
This story was originally published June 16, 2020 at 9:52 AM.