Resolution #2011-6 Property Taxes

Every time the Legislature convenes there is a high pile of bills to revise property taxes which are the most important source of revenue for local governments and public education.  Numerous reform bills will be introduced in 2011. The list of bill draft requests includes proposals to cut the tax rate on business equipment, exempt other classes of property and abbreviate the current six-year reappraisal cycle.  Cities must work to convince legislators that unreimbursed tax reductions and exemptions will increase levies on other classes of property, while a new reappraisal system could lead to a higher level of public suspicion and more protests. 

Be it resolved that the League of Cities and Towns will monitor bills that will diminish the municipal tax base, complicate the calculation of property values, or erode the principles of equalization.