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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 23, 2019)
10A | WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2019 | SIUSLAW NEWS 2019-20 Property Tax statements available online, being mailed soon Lane County taxpayers be- gan receiving their 2019–20 property tax statements over the weekend. Statements are available online now, as well as information about the county value trends, levy changes and individual property tax account infor- mation, at www.lanecounty. org/AT. The first payment is due Nov. 15. Lane County Assessment and Taxation collects prop- erty tax on behalf of 85 sep- arate taxing districts, includ- ing cities, schools, education service districts, water dis- tricts, rural fire districts, urban renewal districts and other taxing districts such as park and recreation, library and ambulance districts. The total property tax cer- tified for all tax levies com- bined in 2019–20 is $581.1 million. This is approximate- ly 5.9 percent more than in 2018. The total amount of taxes billed changes each year as a result of the addi- tion of new or renewed local option and bond levies, the expiration of local option and bond levies, the 3 per- cent statutory increase in Maximum Assessed Values (MAV), the addition of new properties to the tax roll, the number of exemptions granted, and the number of properties being taxed on their lower market values instead of their Measure 50 MAV. Lane County’s Jan. 1, 2019, Real Market Value (RMV) increased to $66.1 billion from $61.9 billion, an over- all increase of approximately 6.1 percent from Jan. 1, 2018. The total taxable value for all properties combined in Lane County increased by 3.9 percent over last year, from $34.2 billion in 2018 to $35.5 billion in 2019. Additionally, 3.7 percent of residential properties in Lane County now have a market value below their Measure 50 MAV which is down from 5 percent in 2018. Most properties will con- tinue to see the 3 percent statutory increase in their MAV. On average, residen- tial property owners will pay tax on 67.7 percent of their RMV in 2019. Oregon’s constitution lim- its the increase in MAV of each property to 3 percent per year, unless there have been changes made to the property, such as new con- struction or additions, new partitions or subdivisions, removal from special as- sessment or exemption pro- grams, or changes in zoning and use of the property. There are approximate- ly 180,000 property tax accounts in Lane Coun- ty consisting of: 54.5 per- cent Residential/Tract; 16.6 percent Exempt; 9.7 per- cent Commercial; 5.9 per- cent Industrial; 4.2 percent Farm/ Forest; 4.7 percent Multi-Family; and 4.4 per- cent Business Personal Prop- erty, Utilities and Other. Property values for tax purposes are set only once a year at the time of certifica- tion. Certification occurred for the 2019–20 tax roll on Oct. 4. Oregon does not reset property values at the time of sale as in California, nor does it reset property values for tax purposes at the time of a refinanced loan. The 2019–20 tax statement reflects a property’s RMV as of Jan. 1. This is based on the Jan. 1, 2018, RMV compared to 2018 sale prices, which showed an overall median RMV increase of 7 percent for a typical house value. Market value changes for individual properties will vary each year due to many factors including the general real estate market, property location and changes made to the property such as new additions, remodels or dem- olition. Voters in the past year have approved changes to the tax levies and bond rates which are then applied to a property’s Assessed Value (AV). However, Oregon’s constitution limits the total tax rate that can be billed to an individual property to no more than $10 per $1,000 of market value for government and $5 per $1,000 of market value for schools. These lim- its do not apply to bonds. If taxpayers believe their properties’ market values are incorrect, taxpayers should first contact Lane County Assessment and Taxation. Taxpayers have the right to appeal to the Board of Prop- erty Tax Appeals through the Deeds and Records Division of the County Clerk’s Office. The Board of Property Tax Appeals has the authority to reduce market value when sufficient evidence is provid- ed to demonstrate the RMV of a property was different on Jan. 1, 2019, than what is on the tax statement. If RMV is still higher than AV, the tax payment will likely re- main the same. A reduction to the value does not always result in a refund. The Board cannot grant reductions to a tax amount; it can only re- view a property’s value. All appeals must be filed with the Lane County Deeds and Records office by Dec. 31. Voter Approved Levy Re- newals • Siuslaw School Dis- trict: renewed its 5-year lo- cal option levy at the same $0.75/$1,000. The money will be used to maintain sta- bility of their current pro- grams through 2023-2024. • Siuslaw School District’s Bond ended.