Own a home in St. Clair County? Here’s how much property tax you might pay this year
If you’re a home owner, the portion of the property tax payment you make to St. Clair County likely won’t be much different than last year.
The St. Clair County Board approved a property tax abatement at a recent meeting, marking the second year in the row that its tax rate has remained stable.
St. Clair County officials approved abating $35.9 million of the original $78.7 million levy it had requested last year, leaving $42.7 million to be collected this year.
The original $78.7 million levy was roughly 4% higher than the unabated levy the year prior, but that was mostly cushion against the risk of falling home values or the sudden need for a budget increase.
Property tax levies are based on the maximum amount of revenue a government body needs to cover its budgets for the coming year. But because the actual value of the property being taxed won’t be known until the spring when assessments are completed, the taxing bodies have to estimate the total value of property — or equalized assessed valuation (EAV) — to determine a tax rate.
That rate may be reduced — or abated — depending on how accurate they were in forecasting the EAV.
Taxing bodies typically levy the maximum amount in the fall so they don’t leave themselves short of revenue if they estimated too high on the EAV.
This year will mark the second year in a row the county tax rate has come out at 1.0990 per $100 of EAV. So, if all else remains equal, this year’s individual tax bills will remain largely the same.
In the 2019-2020 fiscal year, St. Clair County Treasurer Andrew Lopinot said a resident who owned and lived in a home valued at $200,000 paid about $667 in taxes to the county. A resident who owned and lived in a home valued at $100,00 would pay about $300.
That amount, however, doesn’t include what residents pay to the townships, their local municipalities, or school districts.
If you’re property tax bill is higher than last year’s, it’s because your property has been assessed at a higher value. Likewise, if it’s lower, it means you’re house isn’t worth as much as it was last year.
“We have been at 1.0990 for two consecutive years and that’s good. We are operating in the interest of our taxpayers,” said County Administrator Debra Moore. “The chairman (Mark Kern) is proud of that and I am proud of that because we can go to our taxpayers and say we have not increased our rate for the second time.”
Moore added that, while the rate isn’t changing this year, the county makes up a small portion of the average resident’s total property tax bill. Most of what residents pay go toward their municipalities and school districts.
“The county’s portion is extremely small when compared to others,” Moore said.
According to Lopinot’s office, the property tax cycle is a two-year process. Over the first year, the property is assigned a value reflecting its value as of Jan. 1. The tax bills are then calculated, mailed and payments are distributed in the following year.
Evaluation and collecting property taxes is a six-step process, starting with assessment and ending with collection. This year that process was extended by the county due to the rise in unemployment due to COVID-19.
This story was originally published May 3, 2021 at 1:17 PM.