more legislature

[Carolyn Branagan]

Thanks Henry  for  helping me get  back  on!  I  couldn't  figure out  how  to  log  back in,  but  I guess I'm OK  now!  It  has  been a  couple of weeks.  


Anyway,  the legislature is progressing along.  We've passed  2 bills out  of   the Ways and Means Committee. The first  was the bill to lower school property taxes 8 cents, the homestead rate would be  $1.02 and the  non-homestead  would be $1.51,  if  this bill is signed into law.  It  looks  promising, as  the bill  was  passed  out of the Senate on Friday .  Don't  forget the statutory rate is  $1.10 and  $1.59  respectively. The Ed. Fund is continuing to  bring in too much money, and  we are  trying to  figure out  how to stop  that.  In the meantime this bill to lower the state portion of the school  tax  bill will return much  of  the overage  to the taxpayers. When  we  figure  out  how  to  make the  Ed.  Fund stop generating so much  uneeded  money,  the  statutory  rates  will kick  in.  

School taxes are a huge topic  I could go on and  on about,  but  since most  of the posts on this site  are  short,  I'll  stop !

The  other bill passed  out  of Ways  and Means  is  the annual  "Fee  Bill"   which sets  the  rate of  some fees and  sets  new  fees  where needed. Fees  already  in use are  due  every 3  years  for review and possible increase.  We  sent several of  the requests to other  committees, because  we  thought there  were  policy  questions  involved .  Our  committee  deals  just  with raising  revenue,   not  policy.  So  this  year's  "Fee Bill"  is   pretty  minor  as these  thing  go.  I'm  reporting the  bill on the floor Thursday.


I  love  my  job in Montpelier. Please  feel free to  contact  me anytime  at  home  at  527-7694  or  at the statehouse  by  e-mail  cbranagan@leg.state.vt.us

from,
Representative Carolyn Branagan
Franklin-1, Georgia/Fairfax
Vermont House  of Representatives

[JLB]

Carolyn
 
Could you give your opinion on how often a reappraisal might be needed for Fairfax?

The Town is spending $80,000 over the course of 2 years for the current reappraisal.  Yet is seems with Fairfax becoming more and more a bedroom community for Chittenden county, the appraisal values will continue to increase rapidly.   The penalty on taxes for a percentage drop in the CLA is worriesome.

If CLA is  80% then the increase in Tax Rate By is 25%.
If CLA is 75% then the increase in Tax rate is 33%.

It seems to me Fairfax might anticipate a reappraisal in 5 or 6 years?

[Carolyn Branagan]

Hi  Jackie,

Thanks for your reply.  By state law, towns in Vermont have to reappraise  when their CLA  falls lower than 80% or the COD is higher than 20.  CLA  basically compares the listed value of property  for what it  will sell for. The COD is how accurate the Grand List  is when comparing properties within the  town.

Reappraisals are very  expensive, usually  from  $60   to  $150  per  parcel,  and complicating the problem for towns is the fact  that  there are not  very many  companies  that  can  do reappraisals .  The town of Georgia  had to go on a 3 year  waiting list. The state has been  sending towns $6 per  parcel since  Act  60  became law in 1997 to  help  pay  for reappraisals,  but  this is not  enough  money. I know  Donna Meunier has  been keeping this money in a special fund for reappraisals,  so  Fairfax  has  some  money to start with.

The  problem comes from the rapidly  increasing  value of property  in the entire state, but especially here in the Champlain Valley.  You are right  when you say our proximity  to Chittenden County is a  big factor in increasing  land prices. How long  will this continue?  No one really  knows!   On one hand it  is good, because it means all who own property are increasing their equity just  by owning it.  But on the other hand it is bad  because our current system for  funding schools is tied to the property  tax: we tax on the value of  land and buidings and use that money  to pay  for our schools.  I  want to  find a  way  to get  away from the property  tax.

You may  know  that the reason I ran for the legisalture  was out  of  frustration  over school property  taxes.  I  was proud to have had a part  in Act  68 which  lowered  school property  taxes for  83%  of  Vermont  communities, including  both Fairfax and Georgia.  But  I know  Act 68 is not  perfect. This year the legislature has lowered property  taxes 8 cents  from the statutory  rate,  that is 3 cents lower than last  year.  We are able to do this because of the rapidly increasing  value of land. We are giving money back to the taxpayers in this reduction in tax, but  I wish there was a way not  to collect it in the beginning. Land values are  rising so fast  we  cannot correctly  estimate  what the  tax  should  be year  to year.


I know this  response is way too long. I hope I have answered your question and haven't  bored  you!  I'll be at Fairfax Town Meeting next  week,  and we  can talk  further.    Or  e-mail  me  back if  you  have other  questions.

If  land  values continue to rise at the current rate, towns will have to  reappraise at  least  every  3  years,  unless the law  is  changed.

from,

Representative Carolyn Branagan


I'm  tired  tonight, so I hope there aren't  too many  spelling mistakes  in this  message!

[JLB]

Thanks Carolyn

The balance in the Fairfax savings account for reappraisal is $24,000 as of 12.31.2004.   Fairfax will be adding $40,000 in 2005 from property taxes to pay for the current reappraisal.

I appreciate all the efforts to address property tax concerns.

I still suspect we could be looking at a reappraisal in 7 years.    Seems we should reevaluated in 5 years and get on a waiting list before it is too late. ? (See Town of Georgia)