Tax Revenue

Thanks 409
However...the above numbers do not really tell the entire story, this decline will increase.
People are lining up to appeal the current evaluation of their properties because of how poorly this latest evaluation was completed. One house can be valued at $100,000 while the house right next door was valued at $200,000. 
The property values in Middletown are still in free fall..imo

Have no worries.

The BOE and city leadership stated during the levy, passing the taxes to raise property taxes would RAISE property values by consolidation of the schools to be near MUM, and provide added income for those sporting events Middletown would attract with the centralized gyms.

Middletown averaged about 2.0 % Year After Year increases for nearly 23 years, not even keeping up with inflation, PRIOR to the financial mess in 2008. With thousands of overcapacity, property values will continue to DECLINE, not stabilize in Middletown.

The slightly below 8% decline for the current assessment is inaccurate; its nearly 10%.

Help is on the way. When the new school buildings are built as promised by the BOE, property values will rise, of course, associated with the heightened demand of centralization, and ease of gyms within walking distance.

And....when the bike path is completed, a yoga studio opened, thousands of $100,000 annual wage earners will be arriving, to ride their bikes downtown.

North is south, east is west, in the city named Middletown, 'middie', average, continuing to slide. Forbes told you so.

  

Property values in Middletown continue to plummet with no signs of leveling off (yet alone increasing). Homes are being demolished at breakneck speed due to the actions of "The Dougmeister" and Mr. Fooks. The percentage of owner-occupied homes continues to trend lower. The annual dollar value of residential property rehabilitation continues to drop. What a sad state of affairs! Is there any hope for positive change?

To start with, whatever happened to the highly successful Home Ownership Education classes that were attended by 250-300 prospective purchasers annually? Second, whatever happened to the highly successful Down Payment and Closing Cost Assistance Program that routinely aided more than 60 first-time home buyers annually? Third, whatever happened to the highly successful Owner-Occupied Housing Rehabilitation Program that assisted up to 50 elderly and moderate-income households annually in addressing major repairs and updates?

A major responsibility of effective local governments is to collaborate with private sector entities like real estate professionals, mortgage bankers, neighborhood betterment groups, etc. in addressing significant housing issues such as those in Middletown. With the private sector, public sector and impacted citizens each having equal roles in developing proactive and economically rational strategies, progress in eliminating numerous existing housing problems can be remedied. Home ownership promotion in Middletown requires as much attention as does economic development.

You be the judge.

Perplexed
Remember Mr. Doug used all those funds 1.2 million dollars as matching funds for the Ohio Moving Forward Program to demo all those houses...Yep everything is looking just ducky now. 

From today's Journal.....

Meanwhile in Middletown, values dropped $52 million, or 7.39 percent, from 2013 to last year. The values in residential properties in Middletown fell $50 million from 2013 to 2014.

The two largest gains were seen in heavily agricultural districts, Talawanda and Ross. Talawanda property values rose $20 million, or 3 percent, while Ross jumped $9 million, or 2.4 percent, according to the county.

The drop in property values is a trend in Middletown. District Treasurer Randy Bertram said for the sixth consecutive year, and eight out of the last nine years, property values in the district fell.

He said that means the district will receive $1.3 million less in property tax revenue over the next two years — $500,000 less during the current fiscal year that ends June 30, 2015 and an estimated $800,000 less in property tax revenue the following fiscal year, he said.

“Money is tight,” he said, “and we are watching it closely.”

To help offset the loss of tax revenue, Bertram said the district isn’t replacing staff with full-time employees, but long-term substitutes for the remainder of the school year. The district also is assessing its staffing to determine the needs for next year.

He said the district also is reviewing current purchased services and deciding if the service is needed, can be reduced, and looking for alternatives to reduce the contract costs.

Now, Bertram said, the district’s five-year forecast will be updated, and the district will take any “necessary actions” for this and the next fiscal year. He said the district may have to make adjustments to assure it ends the fiscal year in the black.

Just 10 years ago, Bertram said, the property values in the city exceeded $1 billion. Since then, there have been five significant drops: 6.62 percent in 2007; 11.94 percent in 2009; 8.22 percent in 2010; 7.89 percent in 2011 and 7.39 percent last year, he said.

Overall, since 2005, the district has seen a drop of 39.4 percent in property taxes, Bertram said.

“I can only hope that we are at the bottom,” he said.

Bertram said Middletown is $15 million under funded by the state, according to the formula. He said the state is considering raising the cap districts can receive. He said if the state raises the cap by 5 percent, the Middletown district would receive $1.7 million more for fiscal year 2016.

“We certainly are hopeful,” Bertram said about the state possibly increasing school funding.

Even if that occurs, Bertram said, the Middletown district would be under funded in 2019.

Can you see where this talk from Bertram is leading?

Just up the road a few years from now, and after we just gave them bond money for their new schools, the school people, even though we are all taking a beating on our property values, are still going to ask for some more levy money- this time for operations and staffing. The old "give til you are destitute" campaign. It won't be enough that we are bleeding property investment wise, they will still insist on their desires for a mega-cost school system in a city of poor folks who can hardly afford what they will be asking for.

It's a comin".