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The housing crisis is five years old. But for local governments that depend heavily on property...

  • Monday, December 26, 2011, 4:00 PM ET
    The housing crisis is five years old. But for local governments that depend heavily on property taxes, the lag between falling home values and property re-assessments means the housing market bust is just beginning to ravage tax revenues.
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This news story has 32 comments:

  • Nonsense. They'll just raise the millage rate on all paying homeowners.
    You can't expect to cut spending like everybody else does, can you?
    26 Dec 2011, 04:03 PM Reply Like
  • Meredith 101.
    26 Dec 2011, 04:14 PM Reply Like
  • spald:

    Meredith is a one-trick pony, who hasn't known and won't continue to know her gluteus maximus from first base on municipal bonds. She did, however, help me make a bunch of money, buying muni funds after she incited panic in them a year ago. For that, she has my undying thanks.
    26 Dec 2011, 08:44 PM Reply Like
  • BS, they never cut budgets. They will simply raise the mill rates to compensate any drop in the Grand list assessment.

    Do you actually think union school teachers will accept wage concessions?
    26 Dec 2011, 04:29 PM Reply Like
  • Two friends of ours in Southern California are public school teachers, and they had salaries cut.
    26 Dec 2011, 05:26 PM Reply Like
  • Another big problem President Obama inhered for the con man W. Bush.
    26 Dec 2011, 07:13 PM Reply Like
  • Terry:

    Actually the unnatural deployment of capital to the housing industry has been going on for many decades and started by Dems. You probably already knew that but you are too busy deflecting and not accepting responsibility.

    So how about this for size? Obama apparently was really good at community organizing and fixing problems.

    What has he fixed so far? NOTHING.
    26 Dec 2011, 07:20 PM Reply Like
  • Local governments will do what they just did in NYC - they'll adjust the real estate tax rates upwards to squeeze the same amount of tax money from the homeowner on the devalued property.
    26 Dec 2011, 04:35 PM Reply Like
  • Well, except in New Jersey. Thankfully, the GOP governor there had the foresight to constitutionally cap the property tax rate last year.
    26 Dec 2011, 07:48 PM Reply Like
  • California put a cap on real estate taxes 30 years ago. BFD!

    Now there are fees as long as your arm and leg that serve the same purpose - to extract more $$ from the public. The bureaucrats will get your money one way or another.
    27 Dec 2011, 02:21 AM Reply Like
  • I like Christie too, but you may want to check if there are caps to the downside in NJ. After property values fell over 33% in my area, it took NYC over 2 years to reevaluate the properties - but as it turns out the tax laws have written into them that the maximum you can reduce market value for tax purposes in any given year is 25%! They're keeping their greedy fingers crossed that there would be a turnaround. Fuhgeddabowdit!!
    27 Dec 2011, 09:14 PM Reply Like
  • One of the few good things to come out of the housing collapse was it forced the reduction in property taxes. Yes, they will try to raise the revenue elsewhere and they will try to raise the millage rates but many states have constitutional limits. They also have to run for re-election which will curtail their tax increases.

    Much of the stimulus was spent subsidizing local government budgets. That money is now mostly gone and it's unlikely that another stimulus will pass.
    26 Dec 2011, 04:48 PM Reply Like
  • For instance, Baltimore collected $815 million in property taxes during the most recent fiscal year, according to Bill Voorhees, Baltimore's director of revenue and tax analysis. Next year, the figure is predicted to shrink to $803.5 million. The following year, $773 million. The year after that, $735.7 million. The year after that, $729.4 million.
    -----------
    Our whole economic system is built on the premise of ever increasing growth. When that growth stalls (or worse yet, declines), no one is sure what to do!
    26 Dec 2011, 05:11 PM Reply Like
  • Jackson.
    "no one is sure what to do!"
    Nonsense. It is obvious what to do to all but the stupid liberal democrats who refuse to do the obvious and simply CUT THE FRIGGING SPENDING.
    26 Dec 2011, 05:17 PM Reply Like
  • Cut the obscene defense budget first.
    27 Dec 2011, 12:33 AM Reply Like
  • I didn't know local governments kept a standing army.

    In seriousness, perhaps state governments spend some small amount for upkeep of national/coast guards, but in terms of city and municipal government, every dime of spending is non-defense spending---so what's stopping them from cutting them?

    (On the other hand, as a small-government conservative, I do think a vast majority of federal spending *should* be defense spending---one that's smaller in dollar amounts than what we are spending now, but one that's vastly larger in percentage (at least of discretionary spending) than what we have now.)
    27 Dec 2011, 12:46 AM Reply Like
  • @wyostocks - C'mon. All the special interests and stakeholders will scream bloody murder if anyone tries to cut back on their portion of the pie.

    If they cut spending, they won't stand a chance at getting reelected. And then they have to go work a real job.
    27 Dec 2011, 02:26 AM Reply Like
  • Jackson999
    If they cut spending, they won't stand a chance at getting reelected. And then they have to go work a real job.
    ----------------------...
    finally I found somebody with whom I 100% agree
    27 Dec 2011, 07:26 PM Reply Like
  • Here at the local level we are demanding (and getting) a balanced budget. And if our local politicians can't give it to us they won't stand a chance of getting reelected. You've got to start somewhere and one way is to dump the tea overboard in protest of the increased tax.
    27 Dec 2011, 08:28 PM Reply Like
  • Property taxes keep going down in Boise. Not sure where you guys live. And yes, teachers are getting the hammer, public schools are firing them. My elementary school aged kids have huge chunks of "time off" now throughout the year. Idaho believes in austerity and believes kids can just do without an education. It is ugly. Red state with a balanced budget but at a huge cost to our future in my opinion.
    26 Dec 2011, 06:46 PM Reply Like
  • Donate a few thousand each year to your local school district.........
    26 Dec 2011, 08:23 PM Reply Like
  • I'll tell you why property taxes are going down in Idaho; it's because the farmland is seeing exponential price increases. So, the farmers get sweet deals to cash out and then they move to the city and prop up prices there. Look at the urban migration taking place in Idaho.

    Farmland.

    I've never set foot in Idaho. Boise States's football field is enough to convince me I never should.
    26 Dec 2011, 08:24 PM Reply Like
  • Real estate taxes are out of control.
    26 Dec 2011, 06:50 PM Reply Like
  • Exactly. Why should people without kids have to pay real estate taxes that are used to fund schools?? Let the people that have children pay for their own children and schools!
    Schools should be funded by fees, not taxes. In that case, parents can decide where their kids go to school AND PAY for them.
    26 Dec 2011, 07:39 PM Reply Like
  • Considering the criticism our educational system receives, that might be a reasonable idea. Interesting that so many people use alternatives to public education even though it involves financial sacrifice.
    26 Dec 2011, 09:48 PM Reply Like
  • I guess it's going to depend on the city and state. Only options are going to be increased taxes and fees and reduced services and/or cuts in pay and benefits to gov't workers.
    26 Dec 2011, 07:07 PM Reply Like
  • No past President in recent memory left the economy is such a recession as the past,"cut wealthy taxes and borrow trillions for wars" W. Bush.
    26 Dec 2011, 07:16 PM Reply Like
  • Troll.................
    26 Dec 2011, 08:23 PM Reply Like
  • I have a radical idea. Cut corp. and social welfare and let creative destruction and evolution take their course.
    26 Dec 2011, 07:45 PM Reply Like
  • Article is basically correct. State & municipal revenues will be falling for years yet and layoffs and service cutbacks will continue as well. We notice a lot less police traffic patrol cars in our urban area these days. A good development from our perspective. Lots of school consolidation here as well.
    26 Dec 2011, 08:39 PM Reply Like
  • Maybe some districts will start telling the unions to pound sand when they demand their 5% raises.

    Unfortunately, what will most likely happen is that they will cut services and continue pay the bloated salaries and benefits of the local public unions.

    Eventually the whole big brother approach to government will have to collapse.
    26 Dec 2011, 10:28 PM Reply Like
  • davidbdc
    Unfortunately, what will most likely happen is that they will cut services and continue pay the bloated salaries and benefits of the local public unions.
    ======================...
    It has already happened
    26 Dec 2011, 11:33 PM Reply Like
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