Property taxes vary throughout county
Staff writer
Property tax statements have been delivered, and with the first half of 2010 taxes due Dec. 20, taxpayers may wonder how their taxes compare to others in the county.
Property taxes depend on three factors: property value, property type, and tax rate.
Property value is calculated by the county appraiser’s office based on state rules. The biggest consideration in calculating residential values is sales, County Appraiser Cindy Magill said.
The appraiser’s office repeats the value analysis every year, as old sales are removed from the analysis and new ones are added.
“Each year the property has to be valued Jan. 1,” Magill said.
Even if a disaster destroys a building later in the year, state law requires the property be valued as it was on Jan. 1.
“That was the situation in Greensburg,” Magill said, referring to a May 4, 2007, tornado. “The tornado was in May.”
When a property’s value is determined, that is multiplied by a factor determined by its classification, and the result is the value it is taxed on, or its “assessed value.” For residences and farm residences, the factor is 11.5 percent. Other categories include agricultural land, 30 percent; agricultural buildings, 25 percent; commercial, 25 percent; vacant lots, 12 percent; and not-for-profit, 12 percent.
Taxes are calculated by multiplying the assessed value by the tax rate, which is expressed in mills. One mill is one-tenth of a percent. For residential property, one mill works out to 11.5 cents per $1,000 of appraised value; for commercial property, it is 25 cents per $1,000 of appraised value.
Composite levies
Adding the different levies in a city produces the total levy paid by taxpayers in that city.
The levy is 219.6 mills in Burns, which would result in a tax bill of $1,894 on a residence with an appraised value of $75,000.
Durham has the lowest composite levy in Marion County, 140.4 mills. Property taxes on a $75,000 residence would be $1,211.
Florence has a levy of 209.9 mills, for a tax bill of $1,811 on a home worth $75,000.
Goessel residents have a total levy of 185.6 mills. A taxpayer could expect to pay $1,601 on a residence appraised at $75,000.
Hillsboro has a composite levy of 168.1 mills. Property taxes on a $75,000 residence would be $1,450.
In Lehigh, property taxes total 192.0 mills. A home worth $75,000 would be taxed $1,656.
Lincolnville residents pay a total of 193.9 mills in property taxes. On a $75,000 house, that amounts to $1,673.
Lost Springs has a composite levy of 150.2 mills. Taxes on a $75,000 residence would total $1,295.
Marion is divided in two areas for property taxes. The difference is that part of the city pays taxes to a drainage district. Taxpayers in the drainage district pay a total of 191.7 mills, or $1,653 on a $75,000 house. Outside the drainage district, the levy is 187.6 mills, which amounts to a tax bill of $1,618 for a $75,000 house.
Peabody is similarly divided, except the difference between the two areas is a hospital district. Taxpayers in the district pay 219.5 mills. That becomes $1,893 of taxes on a residence worth $75,000. Outside the hospital district, property taxes are 209.2 mills, which would result in a tax bill of $1,804 for a house worth $75,000.
Ramona has the highest composite levy in Marion County, 248.0. Taxes on a $75,000 house would total $2,139.
In Tampa, the total levy is 186.2. The owner of a $75,000 home would pay $1,606 of property taxes.
State and county
The State of Kansas property tax levy is unchanged from 2009 at 1.5 mills.
Marion County’s mill levy is 65.4 mills, up 1.2 mills from 2009.
Cities
City mill levies vary greatly, from a low of 7.3 mills in Durham to a high of 114.0 in Ramona.
- Burns — 72.5 mills, down less than one mill.
- Durham — 7.3 mills, down less than one mill.
- Florence — 84.2 mills, down 3.2 mills.
- Goessel — 55.6 mills, up 1.3 mills.
- Hillsboro — 41.8 mills, up 1.6 mills.
- Lehigh — 63.2 mills, up 1.8 mills.
- Lincolnville — 58.7 mills, down less than one mill.
- Lost Springs — 18.2 mills, down less than one mill.
- Marion — 61.9 mills, up less than one mill.
- Peabody — 72.4 mills, down less than one mill.
- Ramona — 114.0 mills, down less than one mill.
- Tampa — 54.2 mills, down less than one mill.
School districts
School districts account for a substantial portion of property taxes throughout Marion County.
USD 397 — which includes Lincolnville, Lost Springs, Ramona, and Tampa — set a 45.5 mill levy, the lowest school district levy in Marion County. That is down less than one mill from 2009.
The 2010 levy in Peabody-Burns USD 398 is 61.2 mills, up 4.8 mills from 2009.
Taxpayers in Marion and Florence will pay 46.9 mills to USD 408, up less than one mill from 2009.
USD 410 — which includes Hillsboro, Durham, and Lehigh — has a tax levy of 59.5 mills, the highest in Marion County. That is up less than one mill from 2009.
Goessel USD 411 has a levy of 58.1 mills, up less than one mill.
Hospital district
Marion County Hospital District No. 1 set a levy of 11.9 mills. The district includes Burns, Florence, Lincolnville, Lost Springs, Marion, Ramona, Tampa, and part of Peabody.
Fire districts
There are several fire districts in Marion County with taxing authority.
Marion County Fire District No. 1 Durham levies 4.3 mills; No. 2 West Branch, 5.0 mills; No. 3 Colfax, 6.9 mills; No. 4 Peabody, 2.2 mills; No. 5 Clear Creek, 8.4 mills; No. 6 Lost Springs, 5.5 mills; and No. 7 Tampa, 4.3 mills.
Harvey County Fire District No. 1, which includes East Branch and West Branch townships, levies 5.0 mills.
McPherson County Fire District No. 6, which includes Logan Township, levies 3.9 mills.
Butler County Fire District No. 10, which includes the city of Burns and Milton and Summit townships, levies 6.5 mills.
Fairplay Township Fire Fund levies 1.0 mills, and Menno Township Fire Fund levies 1.4 mills.
Townships
Townships in Marion County tax considerably less than the county, school districts, and cities. Some levy no taxes at all.
- Catlin — less than one mill.
- Centre — 2.2 mills.
- Doyle — 2.0 mills.
- Durham Park — 1.0 mills.
- East Branch — less than one mill.
- Fairplay — less than one mill.
- Gale — 2.1 mills.
- Grant — 1.3 mills.
- Lehigh — 4.4 mills.
- Liberty — 1.7 mills.
- Logan — less than one mill.
- Menno — less than one mill.
- Peabody — 1.8 mills.
- Risley — 2.9 mills.
- Wilson — 1.1 mills.
Cemetery districts
There are 14 cemetery districts that levy property taxes in Marion County.
Taxpayers in the Burns, French Creek, Gard, Grant, and Lost Springs cemetery districts pay less than one mill.
Claney Cemetery District levies 1.1 mills; College Hill, 1.4 mills; Lewis, 1.4 mills; Lincolnville, 1.1 mills; Pilsen, 1.7 mills; Prairie Lawn, 2.2 mills; Summit, 2.2 mills; Tampa Community, 1.9 mills; and Whitewater, 2.4 mills.
Other districts
Parts of Marion County are within the Cottonwood Valley Drainage District, which levies 4.0 mills.
Marion County Improvement District No. 1 Eastshore levies 3.5 mills. Improvement District No. 2 County Lake levies 2.4 mills. Improvement District No. 3 Pilsen levies 14.1 mills.
North Central Kansas Library District levies 1.4 mills. Durham, Lehigh, Lincolnville, Lost Springs, Ramona, and Tampa are in the library district.