A proposed 10-cent county tax hike for the coming fiscal year isn’t the only thing on the chopping block after a judge’s ruling in favor of Pima County earlier this week.
County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry may also recommend a roughly 10-cent cut for every $100 of assessed value, canceling much of last year’s primary tax rate increase.
On Monday, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Christopher Whitten ruled that legislation passed last year unconstitutionally gave a state commission the power to determine which local jurisdictions are liable when residents’ tax bills exceed 1-percent of their property’s value.
Whether Huckelberry makes the recommendation to the Board of Supervisors depends on the state not appealing that ruling, according to a memo he released Thursday. A spokeswoman with the Arizona Attorney General’s Office did not immediately respond to questions Thursday about whether there would be an appeal.
“If the state chooses to appeal Judge Whitten’s decision, I will recommend the board only eliminate the proposed fiscal year 2016/2017 tax rate increase,” Huckelberry wrote in his memo, before going on to say any additional reduction would have to wait for a ruling from the Arizona Court of Appeals.
For the owner of a house worth $158,633, which the county considers to be this year’s average value of an owner-occupied home, the proposed 10-cent increase would have added $16.34 to the tax bill and the possible 10-cent cut would drop it by $16.13, according to calculations provided by the county administrator’s office.
Whatever Huckelberry’s recommendation, the proposal will be presented to the supervisors before they again consider approving a tentative budget June 7.
The Property Tax Oversight Commission, the body Whitten ruled was given unconstitutional taxing authority by the Legislature, decided in March that Pima County was on the hook for a $15.8 million bill due by June 30, with nearly all of it going to the Tucson Unified School District.
The county had been anticipating a burden of around $8.4 million, which is what last year’s hike was intended to cover. The additional 10-cent hike recommended for the coming fiscal year was necessary to cover the remaining $7.4 million, according to Huckelberry.
The possible cut is slightly less than last year’s hike, allowing for $400,000 in additional tax revenue to cover the county’s attorney’s fees for the case, which started at the Arizona Supreme Court before being moved to Superior Court. However, Huckelberry told the Star Tuesday that the county also intends to try and recoup those costs as well.
“Local county property taxpayers should not be burdened by the Legislature’s attempt to avoid the appearance of increasing property taxes by transferring the tax liability to local jurisdictions,” Huckelberry wrote in his Thursday memo.
