I just wanted to underscore John Mannillo's discussion, because he
makes an important point... Your taxes go up because downtown is empty.
What are the reasons St. Paul home taxes gone up in recent years?
-First, because of the "fees" added to your tax bill, which falls
hardest on low-density property with lots of street frontage, and is
the same no matter how valuable your home is.
-Second, school levy referendums passed by a majority of voters, to
keep up with inflation and state education cuts.
-Third, because County has raised its tax levy in line with inflation
(generally regarded as good governance).
-And significantly, your taxes go up because downtown is 1/4 to 1/3
empty.
We have a set amount the City collects in property taxes every year.
As I mentioned before, if everyone's property value increases in
tandem, your taxes stay the same, all else staying equal. If our
downtown commercial base loses value, while homes gain in value, guess
what? Your taxes go up.
As John Mannillo reports, "From 1994 to 2002 Downtown valuations
decreased 38% by the cities own figures. It's gotten allot worse since
then. We are close to 50%." Put another way. When vacancies go up,
property values go down. So I looked up BOMA's very conservative
estimate of annual vacancy rates, 1998-2005: 7%, 8%, 9%, 14%, 19%, 20%,
25%, 24%.
Bob Spaulding
living downtown since '99
Technological PS: This thread, which is really three threads (living
wage, renting, and property taxes) to me underscores why the St. Paul
forum needs to be able to change subject lines, and needs back-end
software that will accommodate that, but still group these messages
with the original discussion from whence the discussion evolved (like
we used to have).