A sharp drop in real estate values has reduced Stafford County's overall real estate tax base by 23 percent over the past two years, according to Stafford Commissioner of the Revenue Scott Mayausky.
His office assessed the average home value in Stafford at about $246,000 this year, down from approximately $327,000 in 2008--the last time property was assessed by the county.
Mayausky said reassessments will be mailed to homeowners and businesses by the end of next week.
While some individual property owners may see no decline or even an increase in the value of their real estate, the average home value has fallen, along with most other property in this recession.
Mayausky estimates that Stafford has seen a $4 billion drop in total real estate value since 2006.
"The numbers are still preliminary," Mayausky said of the reassessments, noting that property owners can appeal their reassessment to his office if they disagree with the county's value.
Those appeals should be settled by the end of March.
Reassessments do not, in themselves, dictate what a property owner's tax bill will be. Real estate is taxed per $100 of assessed value, according to a rate set each year by the Board of Supervisors. Supervisors typically set the rate at a level that will bring in enough revenue to cover the county's expenses.
"The purpose of a reassessment is to figure out what portion of that revenue residents should pay," Mayausky said.
To bring in the same amount of revenue year-to-year, Virginia localities will often set an "effective tax rate." According to Mayausky, doing so would raise the current tax rate from $.84 to $1.15 per
Supervisors are not scheduled to set the real estate tax rate until April or May, but will consider both rates presented by Mayausky. If they leave the current tax rate unchanged, the county would face a revenue shortfall of about $40 million, barring any cuts in spending.
Not every supervisor supports the idea of an equalized or effective tax rate.
"The average homeowner is not being fairly represented in terms of what they pay in taxes," Supervisor Bob Woodson said. "The typical homeowner should see some relief in the taxes they pay."
He said that taxpayers should pay less if their property values decrease, but lower taxes could affect the revenue needed for county services like schools and the fire department.
"To reduce revenue on real estate by 23 percent would set this county back 25 years in terms of the services we provide," Supervisor Mark Dudenhefer said.
Jonas Beals: 540/368-5036
Email: jbeals@freelancestar.com