Have you received your property tax statement yet, and noticed that you may have to pay a lot more? There are a few impacts to the 2017 taxes on Greene County properties.
Deputy County Assessor Kassandra Lenz tells Raccoon Valley Radio that in odd numbered years their office can reassess all properties in the county if the prices are behind market value. She says that’s what happened to a lot of properties for the 2017 tax season. They were also mandated by the state to raise all commercial properties by nine-percent because assessed values were too low compared to market value.
County Real Estate and Tax Coordinator Pam Olerich points out factors that also led to the increase in property taxes. She says two separate school bonds were passed and residents are paying for both starting with the 2017 tax season. The Greene County School District passed a $21.48-million bond referendum, where $2.70 per $1,000 of valuation was put on residential properties and $2.78 per $1,000 on agriculture properties. Voters also passed a $25.5-million bond referendum for Iowa Central Community College.
Olerich adds that the Iowa Legislature continues phasing in the process of the rollback system. For 2017, residential property rollback was at 55.62-percent, which was slightly down from 2016 at 56.93-percent. For agricultural property, in 2017 the rollback was 54.49-percent, which was a dramatic increase from 2016 at 47.49-percent. Commercial and industrial properties stayed the same in 2017 at 90-percent.
The countywide tax levy also increased to $5.79 per $1,000 and the Greene County levy, for those who live in the rural portions of the county, pay $13.01 per $1,000. Each city in the county, with the exception of Ralston and Paton, also saw an increase in their respective levies.
Greene County Treasurer Donna Lawson says this is the first-half of property taxes, which are typically due on September 30th. However, since September 30th is on a Sunday, Lawson points out that property owners have until Monday, October 1st to submit their payments. She adds that her office does accept partial payments for those who can’t make the full payment.
“You can go on the website and you can pay it monthly, weekly. And if you use your checking account it’s like $0.40. If you use a credit card it’s going to cost you a little bit more. You can stop in the office with a payment. It doesn’t matter how much it is. What we do is we put it on as an advanced payment and we keep track of that. But that has been working out for a lot of people in Greene County. And it really kind of fits in people’s budgets. It’s a lot easier than getting caught at the last minute.”
If you don’t pay your property taxes by the October 1st deadline, Lawson warns that you will be charged 1.5-percent of the remaining balance per month until it is completely paid.