Property tax estimates nearly even
Assessor says residential estimates are flat thanks to new legislation.
JACKSON — Inside envelopes mailed last Monday to property owners, property tax estimates were mostly cause for relief.
“A lot of people are flat or went down a little,” said Melissa “Mel” Shinkle, Teton County assessor. “And the other folks who are getting an increase are at the cap of 4 percent.”
Of four bills signed into law this year, one in particular is impacting Teton County immediately. HB 45 capped residential structures at a year-to-year increase of 4 percent.
Last week’s mail is the first evidence that homeowners will have some relief after back-to-back county average increases of 35 percent.
As usual, bill estimates are a mosaic of how land values have behaved in about 40 different “neighborhoods.” Values could go down if Shinkle changed the boundaries of the valuation neighborhood to include another area that was selling a little lower.
Those bills, however, can still be $10,000 or more for a single-family home. Applications are open for a state refund program with a June 3 deadline. A county application opens in mid-May and is due Oct. 7.
The exceptions largely occur where land values have increased. HB 45 addressed this issue, and also put a 4 percent cap on land, but that cap doesn’t apply until next year, Shinkle said.
Seeing as residential properties were the focus of lawmakers for the last two years, not all properties were saved from big jumps.
Many commercial property owners will see their tax bills increase. Shinkle said the land value increase in town and Teton Village was about 40%.
That was an adjustment Shinkle said she had to make to stay within the bounds of the law.
A different law to come out of this year’s legislative session will take effect next year for longtime Wyoming property taxpayers. HB 3 exempts 50% of a property’s value if the primary owner of the residence or their spouse is 65 or older and has paid property taxes in the state for 25 years or more.
About 75 percent of Teton County’s property taxes fund state and local schools. The general county coffers see about 13 percent of the property tax dollars, and the remainder are levied for specific districts or groups. Teton County’s general revenue was essentially flat this fiscal year to last, at just over $76 million.
The Legislature set aside $20 million over the next two years to make whole local governments that benefit from property taxes.
The Legislature will likely have to decide again in coming years how to continue.
“Eventually,” Shinkle said, “there’s going to have to be a true-up.”
This story was published on May 1, 2024.
