Did your Property Taxes go up in 2005-2006?

If you live in the town of Boone the answer is YES!!  They were hiked between 20% and 40% and you were not informed as the law requires.

As a result of the Watauga County property revaluation performed in 2005, the tax value of your property increased by about 38%, which was probably a fair appraisal. The county subsequently lowered their tax rate from $.395 to $.313 per $100 of value to adjust for the higher property values. This resulted in a revenue neutral tax rate, meaning the amount of county taxes you pay on your property stayed the same even after the revaluation.

On the other hand, the town of Boone choose not to use the revenue neutral rate of $.297, but rather increased your taxes by adopting a rate of $.37 per $100. Even though the 2005 tax rate was $.40, the 2006 rate of $.37 resulted in a substantial increase in your property taxes.

There is law concerning this issue. The law requires local governments to publicize tax changes. We can find no public record of the Boone Town Council informing the tax payers of this tax increase. 

Help us put Honesty and Integrity back into local government,  Elect Tim Wilson, Dempsey Wilcox, Ethan Dodson and Stephen Phillips on Oct. 9th.