2004 Performance Based Budget - Laserfiche WebLink

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South Bend is under construction. We have a great foundation and a great future, but there aze challenges and opportunities along the way. As I reflect on the past yeaz and point to the fixture, I will propose several action agendas to keep building South Bend as a world class 21~ Century Renaissance City. Reassessment One of the huge challenges facing South Bend and other communities azound the state is the impact of the new property tax assessment. Homeowners and landlords were unprepared for the major increases in taxes. Many low and moderate income families, and elders on fixed income, had to make hazd choices in order to make their fall payments. While the new system will make our cities more attractive for business investment and help to create new jobs, it puts tremendous pressure on individuals and neighborhoods. The court ordered changes were meant to create a fair property tax system. We're not there yet. People are upset. "Why aze my taxes so high?" "What is the City going to do with all the extra money it's getting?" "What are you going to do about it?" These aze some of the questions being asked. Let's review some of the basics about our property tax system. First, the City of South Bend is not collecting extra money as a result of the reassessment. State law caps the amount of property tax dollars that we can collect (this is called the levy). For 2002 our levy was $51,964,456. For 2003, it was $54,423,777. That was an increase of 4.73%, as allowed by State law. The total dollazs received by the city would have been the same under the old assessment system as under the new one. So, the size of the pie stays the same, which means, if one person pays less, another pays more. There has been a significant shift in the percentages paid by di$'erent groups of taxpayers. That is why some bills have increased so dramatically. Here aze the figures for St. Joseph County: A-14