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Taxes increasing all across Fayette

.... Going up in Tyrone

By LEE WILLIAMS
lwilliams@TheCitizenNews.com

Tyrone’s millage rate will remain the same, but many, if not most, Tyrone residents will likely see an increase in their property tax bills because of higher assessed property valuations this year.

A final public hearing on the tax increase is scheduled for Friday at 6:45 p.m. at Town Hall. That will be followed by a called council meeting at 7 p.m. to vote on the millage rate, according to Assistant Town Manager Valerie Fowler.

According to town estimates, the town will get another $42,888 in property taxes this year compared to the current year’s property tax receipts.

Town Manager Barry Amos told the council during a public hearing on July 21, that the town’s $5.1 million budget was prepared with the millage rate of 2.9 mills. He said no millage rate increase is proposed.

“We’re not raising taxes,” Amos said. “We’re maintaining taxes. The only increase they would see is if their property is reassessed.”

However, most residential properties inside Fayette County, including Tyrone, increased in assessed value this year. The reassessments are mostly computer-controlled by the Fayette County Board of Tax Assessors, an unelected body that sets property values for tax purposes.

According to town estimates, the town will get another $42,888 in property taxes this year compared to the current year’s property tax receipts.

Residents with a $150,000 home could expect to pay $174 in property taxes for the town’s portion. Residents with a $200,000 home could expect to pay $232, and residents with a $300,000 home could expect to pay $348 for the town’s portion.

Armed with the third revised agenda informing them of an increase and a news story recalling a promise made to roll back the millage rate in 2005-06, about a dozen residents filed into Town Hall to sound off on the idea.

But after Amos explained the millage rate would remain the same, some decided not to challenge the idea as harshly.

Steven Chontos of Tyrone called the council’s attention to previous comments made in an article featured in The Citizen on Sept. 22, 2004. That story recounted a council decision to approve last year’s millage rate without rolling it back, but council agreed to roll back the millage rate for the Fiscal Year 2005-2006 budget, which has already been adopted this year.

Tyrone resident and former mayoral candidate Grace Caldwell asked the council to roll back the millage rate from 2.9 mills to 2.729 to offset any increase the town would get from reassessments.

“Amos stated that the town could figure in a rollback of the millage rate in next year’s budget and (Councilman Mike) Smola supported that position,” Chontos read from the article. “The motion to adopt the millage rate was approved though (Councilwoman Lyn) Redwood voted against the motion.”

Chontos asked Smola did he say that?

“I did say that,” Smola said. “I’m glad you wrote that down.”

Chontos then asked the council if they planned to honor that promise.

Councilman Paul Letourneau told Chontos he couldn’t support rolling it back given unsteady fuel prices.

Amos said the average savings a property owner with a $200,000 house would see if the millage rate was rolled back to 2.729 mills was $11.44.

In the end, Chontos said he was happy there was no increase.

“I’m happy that the millage rate surely didn’t increase like the town’s information public bulletin board stated,” Chontos said after the meeting. “That’s what threw us a curve because we thought that information was posted last Thursday on this board. Evidently, it’s even confusing to the council and mayor because they couldn’t explain that whole ordeal to us.”

Council’s first public hearing on the millage rate was held 7 a.m. Thursday and the second public hearing occurred during the regular council meeting later that evening.