I ran into one of the crochety old men that I sometimes run into at some functions. Invariably, our discussion turns to something political or social. This time we were discussing the current budget situation when he brought up that county taxes were rising 25%. I said, “really, it isn’t much money that we are talking about here.” “The hell it isn’t!” he replied. “It’s gonna cost me $500/year because I still haven’t sold my other house.”
The other house is the one that he can’t sell because he has a Mexican on one side and a “Chinamen” on the other side. Sigh.
I tried to explain to him that I was certain that it wasn’t as much as he feared. He wasn’t buying it.
So I have worked the numbers for him as best as I can. His new home in Middletown was taxed $534 in 2008. I couldn’t find his Newark home in the NCC Parcel Search, so I found a home on the same street. The alternate home is likely overvalued, as it was sold in 2005, and thus reassessed recently. I don’t believe this to be the case for his home. That home paid $363 in taxes last year.
Now, this means that in County taxes (not school taxes, mind you) he paid $897 last year. This year he will pay an additional $225 in taxes. Keep in mind that he has a tenant in his old house, so surely some of that will be passed down to the tenant. But even if it isn’t, he will pay an additional $18 of taxes per month. It hardly seems like something to freak out about.