The large increase many Yuma County residents are seeing on their 2007 property tax statement is the result of a combination of increased home valuation from two years ago and having to pay more for voter-approved bond measures, according to county officials.


County Treasurer Karen Fritz explained that while no new bond measures appeared on a taxpayer's statement this year, and some tax rates actually went down, most homeowners are still having to pay more due to higher property valuations.

Hoping to capitalize on homeowners' angst over rising property-tax bills, another citizens group is targeting the tax with a Proposition 13-style initiative planned for the 2008 state ballot.


Calling itself Prop 13 Arizona, the group filed language Monday for an initiative modeled after its California namesake. The measure would roll back property valuations, for tax purposes, and institute strict limits on future value increases and tax bills.

More than half the 22 school districts that were asking voters for additional money were stunned Tuesday by a possible taxpayer backlash after voters rejected budget overrides to keep class sizes low and pay teacher salaries.


A majority of the school districts were asking for the continuation of budget overrides that have been in place for more than 20 years and were expected to keep the tax rate the same. Overrides are considered for approval by voters every seven years.

Kevin McCarthy, President of the Arizona Tax Research Association, said his rough estimate is that the initiative proposed by Prop 13 Arizona will cut real property taxes by half.


"Obviously, it would have huge impact on our state and local public finance system," he said. McCarthy said he is sympathetic to the initiative's organizers. "I think it would be wise for the state legislature and the governor to also take notice that there is considerable unrest out there with property taxpayers," he said.

Indiana legislators return to the Statehouse on Tuesday to find a way to permanently cut property taxes without strangling essential government services.


If they're successful, Indiana could be the first state to come up with an answer to the problem of rising property taxes and the rising costs facing government -- issues every state is struggling to address.

The issue is expected to take center stage on the General Assembly's Organization Day on Tuesday and during the next legislative session, which starts in early January.

Valley homeowners upset about the fast rise in their property-tax assessments may feel some relief this year as the latest valuation notices hit their mailboxes.


The Maricopa County Assessor's Office says the new round of valuations to be mailed around Feb. 1 will reflect the slump in the housing market. The office, however, would not disclose specifics and emphasized that not all property owners will see a decline in assessed value. Some neighborhoods have held values better through the downturn.

Legislative Republicans view the state’s equalization property tax as a ticking time bomb that will go off in 2009, but optimism abounds that Jan Brewer’s pending ascension to the Governor’s Office will help them cut the fuse before the clock reaches zero.

As one of his last actions as speaker of the House, Jim Weiers announced that he would appoint a blue-ribbon committee to make recommendations about ways to make state revenues less susceptible to such large cyclical swings.


The commission apparently isn't going to get off the ground. But this is but the latest step in a long and futile odyssey to find a new tax system for Arizona that would produce more stable revenues.

PHOENIX (AP) - The average property tax rate in Arizona dropped this year.


A business-backed advocacy group, the Arizona Tax Research Association, reports that the statewide average fell from $10.04 per $100 of assessed valuation in 2007 to $9.23 in 2008.

The association says one factor behind the decrease is a state requirement to lower tax rates to offset valuation increases.

Another factor is voters' approval in 2006 of a ballot measure that limits growth of local governments' levies.

Proposition 105 is just one sentence. Seventy-one words about Arizona's ballot-initiative process.


But uncertainty abounds within the relatively few words of the seemingly simple initiative. Would it effectively kill all citizens initiatives or just make it more difficult to pass a few dealing with tax increases?