The City of Owensboro is proposing a lower tax rate for the 2019-2020 fiscal year than it did for the previous fiscal year. At Tuesday’s City Commission meeting, commissioners proposed an ordinance that will keep real property and vehicle taxes the same, but will lower personal property taxes by 1.35 cents per $100 of assessed valuation of personal property.
According to Director of Finances and Support Services Angela Hamric, the City did not take the full allowable increase on ad valorem taxes this year, meaning the resulting calculated rate of personal property is 28.09. The City will see $39,046 in less personal property tax revenue than in 2018-2019.
“We proposed no change to the real estate rate from last year, leaving it at 26.6 cents per $100 evaluation,” said City Manager Nate Pagan. “A property at $100,000 would pay $266 of property taxes to the City.”
The ad valorem tax is also referred to as the real property tax, Hamric added, and includes land and buildings.
“It was the Commission’s desire to hold the ad valorem rate and vehicles tax rate the same as the prior year,” she said. “The personal property tax rate is dependent upon the ad valorem tax rate and personal property assessments.”
Since last year’s property tax increase, City commissioners have stated several times that they don’t expect to increase taxes for the 2019-2020 fiscal year.
If Tuesday’s ordinance is voted in approval, then the tax rates will stand at 26.6 cents per $100 of assessed valuation of real property, 26.74 cents per $100 of assessed valuation of personal property and 30.3 cents per $100 of assessed valuation of vehicles.
Hamric said the vehicle tax rate has stayed the same since 2000.
The City did not vote on the proposed tax decrease as it was a first reading for the ordinance, but a vote should take place at the next City commission meeting.
