PIMA COUNTY -- At the Feb 19th Board of Supervisors during the Public Call to Meeting, Pima County Assessor, Bill Staples, reported the County will need to lower tax rates by 14.4 cents in order to avoid giving public notice of a tax increase, if reduced by 18.5 cents it would allow the County to collect the same amount as 2019, in order to comply with the Truth in Taxation Notices.
“I am pausing for effect on that because leaving the tax rate the same,” said Staples. “As Supervisor Valadez likes to talk about, you’re going to increase your collection by over $16 million. You are raising taxes, leaving the rate the same. Stores that increase prices and then have a sale are not having a sale. They are misleading, and I think that is what Supervisor Bronson and Administrator Huckelberry did, stating that we were lowering our taxes by significant amounts.” At the same time as Pima County residents were saying their taxes hadn’t lowered during the great recession.
A recent Arizona Department of Revenue report shows no equalization needed for all properties’ 2020 Property Values in Pima County. However, the tax rate needs to be lowered.
The report was delivered to Pima County Assessor dated February 1, 2019 and states, “It takes great effort to value properties consistently at acceptable full cash value levels throughout a county and you have been successful. As you know, it is extremely important that properties be assessed accurately and uniformly to assure tax fairness for all taxpayers. Because of your excellent work, no equalization action is necessary and your 2020 Notices of Value may be issued.”
See Bill Staples handout at call to the public Feb 19th here: CalltothePublic_BillStaples
See video of Staples addressing the Board of Supervisors posted by Supervisor Ally Miller: