Taxes go up again for 2005

0 Comments | La Crosse Tribune, Dec 19, 2004 | by Magney, Reid

Property taxes are going up 11.9 percent in La Crosse County next year, compared with a much smaller increase in 2004, according to a Tribune review of property taxes, rates and property values.

That's bad news for Linda Birnbaum, who says she could easily do without the holiday surprise.

"Every year the tax bill comes," said Birnbaum, a retiree living on a fixed income in the town of Medary. "It's a shock of a present."

"It's terrible what you have to pay to live in your own house," said Birnbaum, who also co-owns a single-family home in La Crosse with her son. That home is assessed at $101,200, which is the average home value in La Crosse.

On average, governments and schools are collecting 11.9 percent more in property taxes in 2005, compared to a 3.2 percent increase in 2004, according to tax records.

How those increased tax revenues translate into individual tax bills is a little more uncertain.

In La Crosse, many taxpayers will see increases of about 14 percent, said Mark Schlafer, the city of La Crosse's chief assessor.

Tax collections also are up in La Crosse thanks to the LaCrosse School District operating referendum narrowly approved by voters in September.

"They're (taxpayers) pretty hot this year," said Schlafer. "The levy was up 14 percent for LaCrosse homeowners, and if their assessment went up, yikes."

But John Naper, whose house at 1803 King St. also is assessed at the average value of $101,200, said he's comfortable with his taxes.

"Nobody likes to see taxes going up, but it's a fact of life," Naper said.

In La Crosse, the owner of an average ($101,200) house would pay $2,652 in property taxes in 2005.

In some other parts of the county, property tax rates are fluctuating wildly after property tax revaluations.

In the city of Onalaska, tax rates fell $2.38 per $1,000 of property value for Onalaska School District residents, and $3.54 per $1,000 for Holmen School District residents because of a major revaluation that increased the tax base by 24 percent.

At the same time, tax collections are up 9.3 percent in the city of Onalaska.

In the town of Washington, tax rates are down an average of $10.76 because property values are 71 percent higher.

In the town of Shelby, the rate is down $7.82 per $1,000 for West Salem School District residents. In the town of Holland, the rate is down $8.30 because of a revaluation.

In the town of Barre, tax collections are up 36.7 percent, due largely to an increase from the West Salem School District and new development. The tax rate there is up $4.46 per $1,000.

Those kinds of property value changes outside the city of La Crosse bother Naper, a real estate agent.

"I feel the outlying areas are under-assessed," said Naper. "If they're not assessed at the fair market value, they're not paying the same" as La Crosse.

Naper said he thinks the two-story, three-bedroom house he bought in 1985 is valued fairly for tax purposes. "In general, the city of La Crosse does a fairly decent job," he said.

He might get an argument from Birnbaum. She and her son, Dustin, co-own the three-bedroom split-level house at 3312 Meadow Lane Place where Dustin lives. Like Naper's house, it is valued at $101,200. They bought it five years ago for $80,000.

"That's a lot of money for what the house is," Birnbaum said. "I don't think it's average. It's an OK house, but it's not a quality-built house. It needed to be redone from stem to stern."

She and her husband, Frank, live at N2876 Hwy. 16 in the town of Medary. She's retired from Viterbo University, while Frank is retired from G. Heileman Brewery.

"Our house is in Medary, and we pay outrageous taxes. We pay for services" like garbage pick-up that are included in LaCrosse city taxes.

"Everything is out of control," she said. "The whole market's spiraling up."

Birnbaum thinks things would be easier on retirees if so much La Crosse property wasn't off the tax rolls.

"How many nonprofit places don't pay taxes?" she asked. "People have to pay for all the services for nonprofits."

Schlafer said it's hard to know exactly how much of the property is off the tax rolls. "There's been no definitive study," he said.

Fifteen to 20 years ago the city assessor did a study and estimated about half the property is tax free, Schlafer said.

"Fifty percent was not far off, but with the growth we've had in recent years it's probably in the 35 to 40 percent range," Schlafer said.

Taxpayers did get one bit of good news for 2005. The lottery credit was up this year.

La Crosse's lottery credit is $110.56, up $22.91, the largest increase in the area. Others are up between $11 and $6.