Proposed increase of Madison County property taxes of 9 mil.
 

Northcutt Realty's position is currently neutral on this issue;  this may change as more information on this amendment becomes available.

Considerations against an increase

The argument against this tax is both an issue of annual expense for the actual tax and the effect that it might have on the selling price of the  property.   This tax for owner-occupied property will increase the cost of owning the property approximately $108/year for a $100,000 owner-occupied property,  i. e., a homesteader property; and $216/year for an investment property or a second home.  Although this is not a huge increase in the cost of maintaining your house, it is an increase that affects all homeowners.  The purpose of the tax is to help the county schools.  Many homeowners do not have children in school so it is a tax from which the average homeowner does not always get a direct benefit.  In addition to the annual cost of the tax, you may also wish to consider how the increase in the tax will affect your property's sale price or value.  The additional taxes that a potential purchaser of your property will have to pay when he purchases your property may have an indirect effect on how much your property can sell for, although the proposed increase for an owner-occupied property will increase the average buyer's payment only $10/month (or $20/month if the purchaser is buying it as an investment property).  This can have a direct effect on the price range of properties that a purchaser can afford;  for example, if the monthly taxes are increased $10/month that increases the payment on the house $10/month for the average home buyer and therefore decreases the amount they can afford to spend on the house itself by approximately $1,500.

Considerations pro an increase

Although Madison County's current property tax rates are higher than many of the surrounding counties' property taxes this is more than offset by two issues:

1.  Homeowner's insurance rates are lower due to the higher level of public services that are available to county residents in Madison County;  i.e., police and fire protection, which helps our homeowners' insurance rates to be lower.

2.  Additionally, although Alabama's schools as a general rule are rated below the national average, Madison County schools as a general rule are well above the national average.  As the residents of our county tend to put a strong emphasis on the availability of quality education, this is a strong drawing point or advantage that residents of Madison County have over other surrounding counties;  i.e., we spent more on our educational system.  This has an indirect effect of increasing property values in our area because many people prefer to live in Madison County due to the perception of superior public education facilities and therefore increases the demand for houses in Madison County and thus makes the property in general in Madison County a better value to the average purchaser.
 

Unknown considerations

Because of the recent equalization legislation, the legislature has reduced funding for some of the more affluent counties to provide funding for some of the counties that are not as affluent.  The major question that should be asked will be, if we increase our property tax rates to provide more funding for our local schools will money from the state of Alabama available to Madison County schools be reduced because of the increased funds that are available locally.

Actions you can take as an individual

1.  Contact your legislator and express your thoughts
2.  Vote in the next general election
3.  Use this consideration as to whether you should support that legislator in the next general election or not.
4.  E-mail Northcutt Realty and let us know what your thoughts and concerns are about this proposed legislation.