Elderly low-income homeowner hopes city will consider joining tax relief program | WJHL

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) — Retired nurse Carleen Claybaker isn’t too happy about the fact that even though Johnson City isn’t increasing the property tax rate, her property taxes are going up 15% while a bank, a store, a shopping center and an apartment complex will all shrink.

“I’m barely surviving on what I get from Social Security…and I live very frugally,” Claybaker said in his modest home as his African gray parrot, Henry, chatted in the background. Claybaker gave up his car to save on related expenses, but said with his county’s taxes rising even more after a 30-cent hike — about 34 percent — the cost-cutting savings have “disappeared,” he said. she declared.

“I’m going to have a harder time meeting those tax expectations than I thought, let’s say, at the beginning of the year.”

Claybaker hopes city leaders will consider partially or fully matching the state of Tennessee’s property tax relief program for low-income elderly and disabled homeowners. Washington County is fully aligned with the program, while Johnson City is not currently participating. As a result, she received a $216 reduction on her Washington County property taxes last year ($108 from the state and a county match), while her municipal taxes included only the county match. $100 state.

Learn more about the Tennessee property tax relief program here.

“I have no problem paying taxes,” Claybaker said. “I understand that governments must have revenue to provide us with services. »

How to get higher taxes without raising rates?

Johnson City commissioners kept rates at a rate that keeps city revenues the same after last year’s countywide reassessment, but Claybaker’s taxes are rising because average home values has increased much more than the average commercial value. The average home was valued at 68% more than its 2019 value, while the average commercial property only saw a 27% appreciation.

When the state resets the tax rate, it groups all properties together to reach a rate that equalizes the amount the city and county will collect next year compared to last year’s amount.

Thus, the average commercial property will see its tourist tax amount decrease by 13%, while that of the average home will increase by 15%.

For example, the Bank of Tennessee headquarters was appraised at a value 20% higher than the 2019 reappraisal, which is well below the overall average appreciation of 54%. As a result, the company will pay about $90,147 in property taxes on the building next year, or 18 percent. less than the $110,306 paid this year.

News Channel 11 looked at 11 commercial properties in various areas — a supermarket, two apartment complexes, restaurants, a department store — and their combined total property tax for 2023 was $654,278. After a combined appreciation of 32%, which is well below the overall county average but slightly above the business average, their combined bill for 2024 will be $591,966, a 10% decrease. The highest drop was 45% for a McDonald’s in south Johnson City.

Claybaker, meanwhile, had the value of her home assessed at $179,100, up 68% from the 2019 assessment of $106,300. Her occupancy tax was $526 a year last. It will be $606 this year. Add in Washington County’s first tax rate increase in nine years, passed Thursday night, and its combined property taxes, $1,097 last year, will be $1,372 this year before everything kicks off. assistance program.

Even though the gap between the commercial and residential sectors is a matter of macroeconomics and value trends and not the result of some grand conspiracy, Claybaker still finds it a bitter pill to swallow.

“People who make really decent profits, why don’t they pay more taxes? I am very troubled that I feel like those who are better off are getting more breaks.

Claybaker gave up using a car to save money and said she felt like more financial burdens “were being placed on those who are least able to shoulder that burden.”

An extra $275 in property taxes is no small deal for Claybaker.

“I’m a little afraid that my situation matters so little,” she said.

The lever of tax relief

News Channel 11 asked Johnson City if it has considered aligning with the state’s agenda on any level. The city said that while such a program was not included in the fiscal year 2025 budget that begins July 1, “staff has worked diligently to develop a budget that carefully considers the priorities of our residents and responsible management of their tax money.

The release notes that the city has only increased its tax rate three times in the past 22 years and that the rate “remains very low, especially considering the high level of service provided to all.”

“We are grateful that the state is providing this assistance and that Washington County has provided additional funds that will help some of Johnson’s citizens who need it most.”

News Channel 11 reached out to several other local governments and learned that Johnson City is not out of the ordinary. Neither Elizabethton nor Kingsport offers an amount equivalent to the state amounts, which vary each year and by jurisdiction and are set by the state. Hawkins County also does not offer a connection.

Bristol matches 25 percent of the state’s amount in city property taxes, while Greeneville matches 30 percent. Greene County, like Washington County, offers a 100% match. This game cost Washington County nearly $500,000 in lost revenue last year.

“It’s definitely worth looking into.”

Johnson City Vice Mayor Aaron Murphy told News Channel 11 he is willing to investigate the possibility so people like Claybaker can potentially get more relief. He said he did some personal research into the program after it was brought to his attention.

“I thought it was definitely worth looking into whether it was a possibility now or something that could be done in the future,” Murphy said.

“As a local representative, I can’t make the decision for the city to implement this, but we can encourage and ask staff to entertain it to see if it’s a possibility.”

Good Samaritan Ministries CEO Murphy said he witnesses first-hand the struggles people like Claybaker face.

“We get a significant number of calls from seniors, veterans and seniors needing help,” Murphy said.

He said city leaders must work to ensure adequate revenue for schools, roads, public safety and infrastructure, saying “those are the bottom line.”

But Murphy acknowledged that inflation challenges are compounded by anomalies in this latest revaluation. The gap of 68 to 27% between residential and commercial is not normal.

During the 2019 revaluation, the city’s overall residential property value increased by 10.2% and commercial property increased by 11.1%. The 2014 revaluation resulted in a 3.3% decrease in residential value compared to 2009, while commercial value increased by 2.0%. Neither year showed enough of a difference to swing commercial or residential sales to any appreciable extent.

“Any time we can help our neighbors in need, whatever their needs are, whatever their basic needs are, it’s important that we at least think about it, that we look at it, that we do our research to see the possibilities to achieve this,” he said. said.

For her part, Claybaker said she’s concerned not only about eligible seniors and disabled homeowners — the maximum family income for the 2023 tax year is $33,460 — but also about income-earning working families. weak and moderate.

“Is there a way to look at the situation so that the burden that is unreasonably placed on those of us in these circumstances is given more consideration…to see how we can have reasonable expectations about who will assume the major part of this burden. »