TAX REPORT – FISCAL YEAR 2020-2021
The 2020 property assessment totals have been released and the calculations for the compensating tax rate and any allowable tax rate increases are complete.
Property value reassessment and new development (mostly along the river) increased our tax base by just over $35M after adjustments for exemptions. The net sum of additions and deletions was a positive gain and the $1M in deletions is the lowest in the 7 years I have been the City Administrator and perhaps well beyond that.
RATES
2019-2020 Rate: $0.456 per $100 of Property Valuation
2020-2021 Rate + 4%: $0.434 per $100
2020-2021 Compensating Rate: $0.418 per $100
I am recommending the City Council adopt the tax rate of $0.434 per $100 of valuation. This is a 4% increase over the compensating tax rate and is a 5% reduction from the 2019 tax rate of $0.456 per $100. This adjustment will allow the city to bring in just under $40,000 of additional property tax revenue over last year. This additional revenue will be used in the General Fund to balance the budget and offset some of the rising pension costs. If the momentum continues along the riverfront the city should be able to continue to drive down the tax rate, especially considering we are still in the early stages of Manhattan Harbour maturity. This will be the first reduction of the tax rate since 2008.
Michael Giffen
City Administrator