Property tax bills were mailed to Jefferson Parish home and business owners Monday, and most should see little to no increase in their tax obligation compared with 2005.
Assessor Lawrence Chehardy reduced the property tax roll about 6 percent after Katrina, and it began a slow convalescence this year, to almost 96 percent of its pre-storm value. But the 1.8 percent increase from last year is so small that many taxpayers won't notice a difference on their bills.
"Assessments were reduced after Katrina, and for the most part those same assessments have been carried forward," Chehardy said.
Chehardy said most property should be returned to its pre-Katrina value in time for the 2007 assessment, which will take place at the end of next year. At that time, his staff will circulate through damaged neighborhoods to take stock of recovery.
Some residents have used storm damage as an impetus to improve homes, adding new rooms or gussying up dated exteriors. Chehardy said he would give owners a break and not factor in such improvements until the scheduled reassessment in 2008.
The 2005 tax bills, which normally would have gone out last fall, were mailed late to give the assessor's office a chance to factor storm damage into assessments. Because many owners paid their 2005 bill in the early months of 2006, they will be socked with two property tax bills this year.
The 2006 bills are due immediately, though owners will not be considered delinquent unless their payment arrives after Dec. 31.
Parish Council Chairman John Young said receiving two property tax bills in one year might feel like an encumbrance to homeowners, but he said there is an upside: They can write off both payments on their 2006 federal income tax returns.
The total 2006 property tax assessment for the parish, which finances the 2007 budget, comes to $3.07 billion. That translates into a tax collection of $226 million after the homestead exemption, $127 million of which will be directed into the government budget. The remainder supports the sheriff and the public school system.
Paul Rivera, the internal auditor with the Sheriff's Office, which handles tax collection for the parish, said he expected property values would grow to within 3 percent of their pre-storm level.
Although values crept up only 1.8 percent, Rivera said Jefferson needs to collect less property tax revenue than it did in 2005 because local government recently paid off a large drainage debt. Last year's property tax levy was $241 million -- $25 million more than the 2006 levy.
If property values escalated less quickly than anticipated, Young said the extraordinary sales tax boom would help to offset whatever slack there might be on the property tax side. Jefferson is estimating a 5 percent increase in sales tax collection in 2007 compared with pre-storm levels, but revenue has been about 40 percent higher than pre-storm averages for months.
"Budgeting conservatively is what has always kept Jefferson in good shape in the past," Young said.
In a normal year, Jefferson expects to collect about 97 to 98 percent of the property tax bills it sends out. Last year, when many home and business owners remained displaced after the storm, the finance department estimated it would collect on only about 85 percent of its bills.
The reality was much better -- about a 90 percent collection -- and Jefferson believes it will have an even better return on the 2006 bills, with about a 95 percent collection rate, Rivera said.
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Kate Moran can be reached at kmoran@timespicayune.com or (504) 883-7052.