WPCNR QUILL & EYESHADE. By John F. Bailey. April 2, 2008: April Fools Day arrived Tuesday and with it came the Westchester County Tax Bill that amounted to $2,400 (including sewage and refuse disposal). The typical median White Plains home on the market for $700,000 and assessed at $18,475 ($14,775 with STAR exemption) now awaits White Plains Mayor Joseph Delfino’s promised tax increase April 7.
Should the city raise taxes 7% -- roughly the amount the school district voted to raise school taxes Monday evening, (6.75%) half the typical White Plains homeowners will pay $2,800 this year, and can look forward to paying over $3,000 in city taxes this year – and a goodly amount over $3,000 next year. We suspect the increase will be around 5% but since no one is leaking the figure to us, we cannot really say.
Looking at the county, school and city bills for 2008-2009, the conclusion can be drawn that half of White Plains homeowners can look forward next year 2009-2010 to paying just about $15,000 in property taxes and substantially more in taxes on homes marketed over $700,000. If your home is a million dollar home you’ll be paying $20,000 plus in taxes; $1.5 Million, $30,000 plus in taxes. But the inexorably, unstoppable spending of the schools, the city and the county compounds the property tax felony across all housing values.
The school district as WPCNR pointed out, if assessed values do not plummet over the next two years (due to the bottom falling out of the equalization rate in 2008 (2.75%), keeps its present conservative budget escalation rate the same 5.7% (a little less than double the inflation rate of 3.3% according to the way the state figures it) we can figure on another $35 being added to the tax rate, that will increase the tax rate to $540 per $1,000 of assessed valuation. But, the school district increase most likely will be more considering the certiorari time bombs and $50 Million in financing added to the budget. On the median home that means a tax of $8,000.
Throw in another county escalation of 10% in 09-10, with another county tax increase, and you’re up to $2,600, and a city tax in 2009-10 of say another 7% -- and you’re at $3,000 – for a total tax bill next year from our three public servant agencies of $14,000 -- if your home is on the market for $700,000.
If the school district inflates its spending to 7% for example – half the White Plains homeowners will be paying $15,000 in property taxes and the highest priced homes about double or more.
