2004 Performance Based Budget - Laserfiche WebLink

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You can see that most of my South Bend tax dollars go to support the General Fund. Seventy-five percent of that money supports Police, Fire and EMS. The remaining 25% is for Code Enforcement, Traffic & Lighting, Engineering, and general government functions. These are important services. So, why is our tax rate so high compared to the rest of the State? One reason is that other communities have additional sources of revenue to help support operations. Cities with casinos receive large distributions that help offset costs. Some communities have a Food & Beverage tax or a higher Local Option Income Tax. Others have had the income tax in place for a longer time allowing them to catchup on capital needs, then use the income tax to replace property tax dollars. Another reason is that they have a smaller percentage of tax exempt property and a greater total assessed value ratio. The important number is not the tax rate, but the amount of taxes that individuals pay. In South Bend, the tax is less than $1,000 for 54% of Residential properties. It is less than $2,000 for another 30% of Residential properties. Eighty-four percent of Residential properties are taxed at less than $2,000. For many, that number is still too high. What can we do about it? I have lobbied the Legislature for the past two years on reassessment. I will continue to work with them to make this system fair. We need to provide them accurate information from across the state so that they can target relief dollars effectively. The large maps graphically depict what has happened with property taxes in the city. On a lot by lot basis, they show what properties increased or decreased, and what is the amount of taxes paid. This is important detail and our GIS team worked hard to depict it. But the data was not available to us till a week and a haa®o~ I Vie, ~ swat aide ry Goners apd C.ot" Pr~ruk~t oe A-17