Montrose, IA – The Lee County Board of Supervisors developed a rural tax abatement program in 2007.
Property taxes on new construction or additions are waived for two years.
Chairman Ernie Schiller says the program is having a positive impact on the county.
Lee County has received more than 200 applications since 2007. The applications covered nearly $23-million in new construction.
20 applications came in prior to the February 1 deadline to be included in the 2010 tax cycle. They include more than $2.5-million in improvements, including ten different projects valued at more than $200,000.
Lee County Assessor Teresa Murray says the program will sunset at the end of the year if the supervisors do not extend it.
Impact
2007 - 29 approvals - $3.6-million in improvements
2008 - 55 approvals - $6.9-million in improvements
2009 - 46 approvals - $4.9-million in improvements
2010 - 45 approvals - $4.2-million in improvements
2011 - 7 approvals - $618,000 in improvements
2011 - 20 pending - $2.5-million in pending improvements
Budget
Meanwhile, Lee County is projecting a decrease in its property tax rate for next year.
The urban rate is expected to fall $0.42 while the rural rate will go down $0.12.
The state rollback has increased, though, so homes will be taxed at higher values next year. That means some homeowners will pay more in county property taxes.
For example, the owner of a $100,000 home in rural Lee County would actually pay $12 more next year. Homeowners in Keokuk or Fort Madison would pay less because of the size of the cut in the urban rate.
The Board of Supervisors is trying to identify more areas to cut, though, as the county's property-tax funded accounts are showing deficits of more than $500,000.
The panel plans to cut $100,000 from its economic stimulus fund and eliminate the salary for the vacant maintenance director position.
The board is also looking into an across-the-board cut of 1% and a reduction in publication fees by cutting the size of the meeting minutes published in local newspapers.
Lee County's budget must be finalized by March 15.