More readin' it and weepin'
Yesterday we posted our annual analysis of our property tax bill. This no doubt bores some readers to tears, but for some folks it's an interesting read. One reader even requested that we present further analysis, showing the trends of the percentages of tax that the various categories represent. Here's a six-year breakout of the taxes that the City of Portland collects:
You can just see "urban renewal" eating its way through basic services.
Here are the six years for all the taxes that we pay, to all jurisdictions:
And if you are still breathing, then just for the sake of completeness, we thought we'd link to our past annual analyses. Here they are:
2009
2008
2007
| Posted at 12:21 PM | Permalink |
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Comments (9)
Thank you Jack.
I am sure this is quite a lot of work, even with the aid of computers, and spread sheets, and so on...
I would have no idea how to accomplish such a task, but I enjoy your work very much, and so does my CPA!
I wish the city wonks would read and understand that we are sick and tired of this B/S!
Posted by portland native | October 22, 2011 2:14 PM
Thank you for going to the work of doing this and posting it for us to see. It is indeed very interesting.
Posted by Madrugada Mistral | October 22, 2011 2:49 PM
Yes, thank you for this contextual deconstruction of the opaque document called a Real Property Tax Statement (RPTS). I don't recall any candidate for a county or city office in any previous election being queried extensively in any forum about single- or multi-year meanings of this document.
More modestly speaking, my RPTS advises me that the Total RMV Value of my home has, as we enter the fourth year of the Great Recession, DECLINED 11.52%.
But the Assessed Value has INCREASED 3.00%.
And the assessed Property Taxes are UP 5.39%.
Is every property owner paying much more for a lot less?
My neighborhood, which is far from a wealthy one, subsidizes "urban renewal" elsewhere. Direct benefits remain theoretical: our elected city and county governments extend to us only the TS of the RPTS.
Isn't it long past time for a representative form of city government?
Posted by Gardiner Menefree | October 22, 2011 3:15 PM
Thanks, Jack.
2005-06 was an odd year. The only time in the last 10 that Portland Public Schools hasn't collect a local option property tax -- remember the County/Schools I-TAX? -- so the overall PPS tax rate was lower. But we were all paying in other ways.
Posted by Sarah Carlin Ames | October 22, 2011 4:12 PM
Police and fire retirement going down? That's probably because of the closing of the old unfunded system several years ago and putting new hires into PERS. If so, that'll continue to be a trend.
Posted by William Thompson | October 22, 2011 5:27 PM
I don't think so. I think it's a short-term fluke. According to the city auditor, police and fire pension payouts are expected to double over the next 20 years. It will be a couple of decades before they start coming down.
Posted by Jack Bog | October 22, 2011 5:32 PM
Woops, I posted THIS in the wrong place, and if this keeps up there will be no businesses left in this city.
Posted by AL M | October 23, 2011 8:03 PM
I don't think so. I think it's a short-term fluke. According to the city auditor, police and fire pension payouts are expected to double over the next 20 years. It will be a couple of decades before they start coming down.
Possibly. You have to inflation adjust the auditor's graphic, even if projected, and evaluate that against the projected percentage growth in city revenue over the next 29 years.
I don't think it seems likely that revenues will double in 30 years, but it may not be out of range.
Posted by paul g. | October 24, 2011 7:15 AM
You have to inflation adjust the auditor's graphic, even if projected, and evaluate that against the projected percentage growth in city revenue over the next 29 years.
No you don't.
Posted by Jack Bog | October 24, 2011 9:08 AM