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Property taxes are the most stable way to provide necessary local services to Clinton County’s residents. Some of these services include police protection, emergency services, human services, education, infrastructure, and many others. Clinton County, the City of Lock Haven, our local school districts, and 29 municipalities all derive a portion of their funding through the collection of property taxes. Clinton County’s property taxes are currently based on property values that were established after a countywide reappraisal that occurred in the early 1970’s. These property values were adjusted by the county assessor only if additional external structures were added to an existing structure. Any internal remodeling or external improvements that do not enlarge the existing structure do not qualify for a county assessor to adjust that property’s value. All construction built since the early 1970’s are valued by the county’s assessor based on what building materials cost in 1973. As you can image, much has changed during the past 34 years in property values and building material costs. As determined by state law, Clinton County can initiate a mathematical reassessment in lieu of a countywide door to door reappraisal. While this adjustment helps to bring market values up to date, they are applied to all properties countywide and are not a fair assessment of actual property market values and do not lend themselves to a fair distribution of property taxes. This process also adjusts building material costs to bring them in line as well. Since the early 70’s, Clinton County has completed three mathematical reassessments to attempt to bring property market values in line. The problem that arises from not performing a countywide door to door reassessment over a long period of time is that taxes are not distributed fairly based on the actual market value of your property. One example is two houses that sell for the same price can have very different assessments resulting in one of the owner’s paying more property tax. The sellers receive the same amount of money from the sale of their properties but would pay very different property taxes. Another example would be if you make the same salary as your neighbor, but pay twice as much income tax!
When countywide reassessments are not done frequently enough, inequities develop that alter a property’s value. These include higher construction costs, real estate market changes, or physical improvements to an existing structure. Clinton County, as in most areas, has seen a rapid appreciation in real estate. For instance, a house built in the 1960 for $25,000 could sell for $125,000 today. In the interest of tax fairness, the Clinton County Commissioners have decided that it is time to initiate a countywide property reappraisal or re-valuation. Once the project is complete it will ensure that all properties are valued uniformly and that everyone pays his or her fair share, no more or no less. Assessments are based on fair market value, in other words, a prediction of the price your property would sell for. So, you may wonder, “What is a reassessment project and what does it entail”? Clinton County will hire a firm that will value all properties within Clinton County accurately, fairly, and in a timely manner. These include every property whether it’s residential, a farm, a commercial business, or an industry. The project has several steps that need to be completed during the duration of the reassessment project. To understand the aspects of such an undertaking, we encourage you to read our reassessment guide or attend a public meeting so that you can educate yourself and know your rights. The big question that everyone wants to know is “WILL MY TAXES GO UP”? The taxes of some property owners will go up and some will go down. You won’t know how the reappraisal will affect property tax until each taxing unit (school board, municipalities, county) refigures their rates (millages) based on the new values for all of the properties within its jurisdiction. Some people think that ALL tax bills will increase after a tax reappraisal… this is NOT the case. Some will increase while others decrease. No additional revenues are collected because of a reappraisal, they are simply redistributed fairly. As you can see, reappraisal is a complex process. Gathering detailed information from all of Clinton County’s 23,000 residences, farms, and businesses is a major undertaking. The goal of a reassessment is that similar properties will have similar assessed values as a result of the project. In the end, Clinton County and the reappraisal firm selected to perform the reevaluation will do every thing we can to ensure that you and your neighbor pay your fair share of property tax. No more, no less. If you need more information, please do not hesitate to contact the County and we'd be happy to answer your questions. |
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