Evaluation or monopoly
The city has made its revised property evaluations public, and almost every house in the city is now worth almost 40% more than a week ago.
Stop. Breathe deeply. The city has also assured us that this is a “paper exercise”. Our taxes will not rise by 40% in the next fiscal season. The city will carefully readjust its mill rate downward so that only a small, gentle fluctuation should be expected. There is nothing to fear. This is simply a “paper exercise” with no real meaning.
Sure. And pigs can fly. And the boogie-man doesn’t eat babies (maybe it doesn’t). Somehow, I have a itchy feeling, down deep in my back and side pockets. Somebody, deep within the accounting miasma of said city hall, has plans for my (soon to be their) money. After all, one can’t underpose while trying to impose that fact of life called taxes. If a property is worth 40% more than it was before, well it only makes sense that it should be taxed in consequence.
The wonderful thing about a monopoly is that you control your market. The wonderful thing about an evaluation process that allows you to increase the value of all property by a given percentage is that you will reap what you sow. After all, like in a monopoly, the taxation department has lots of opposition, but no competition.
