Tax Increase Set for Longview

LONGVIEW — The tax increase Longview voters asked for is on the horizon. According to KETK and the Longview News-Journal, the city has proposed a 50.09-cent property tax rate for the 2012 budget year. The rate includes an unchanged maintenance and operations rate of 38.62 cents per $100 taxable value, plus 13.47 cents for debt service. The debt rate increased from 11.78 cents after voters approved a $52.6 million street bond proposal in May. City Manager David Willard addressed the rate as part of his nearly $150 million spending plan for 2012 at Thursday’s City Council meeting. Council members also rezoned Magnolia Lane property to make way for apartment homes and named a new mayor pro tem.

Last year’s property tax rate of 48.4 cents and the 2012 proposed rate are higher than the effective rate of 48.13 cents — the rate needed to generate the same amount of revenue as in the current budget. For taxpayers, the average taxable home value increased from $132,325 this past year to $135,465 in 2012. That means the average tax bill, with the proposed 50.09-cent rate, would be $678.54, representing an increase of $38.09, or a nearly 6 percent jump.