| Property tax reassessments reveal upside of MacArthur Road congestion
I reacted to their plan by referring to the "MacArthur Road rat race" and suggested there already is more than enough commercial development along that nightmare. I told him I might have to rethink my hostility toward stores. One of the reasons for that, it was explained, is that cheaper homes were more likely to be undervalued. " (Yes, I'm sure confusion in Lehigh County has been completely eradicated. On Sunday, however, a story outlined how typical residential property owners will fare in two sections of Lower Macungie Township. I feel just like Warren Buffet, although on a slightly smaller scale, wracked with guilt that my secretary, if I had one, might wind up paying more in property taxes than I do, especially if he or she lived in Ancient Oaks. On the other hand, one story said eight of the nine Lehigh County commissioners will get reduced property taxes, ranging from $366 to a $3,442 reduction for Commissioner Lisa Scheller. Since February, there has been one news story after another about the reassessments, predicting that 55 percent of property owners in Lehigh County will pay more tax, but residential taxes were more likely to decrease. How can I ever reconcile my glee over anticipated lower taxes with my wish that they'd somehow solve the traffic turmoil by getting rid of, say, the Lehigh Valley Mall? Am I willing to help reduce traffic congestion by paying my share of that $751,700 tax enhance the mall is facing, instead of taking my 16. As all these explanations were confronting us, I decided to dig that notice out of my get-around-to-someday bin and get the bad news about how my house and the Lehigh Valley Mall are in the same boat. On Tuesday, Tom Muller, director of administration for Lehigh County, sent me a chart showing what was happening to the overall the importance of property in Whitehall Township. The next time I need to go to Palmerton, I suppose, I can go by way of Leather Corner Post rather than getting stuck in the rat race. Such projections assume that local taxing bodies, including school districts and municipalities, do not raise their tax rates, which is not always a very safe assumption. Soon, we got around to my favorite taxpayers gured, will probably be about the same as the tax hike on my house. "It [the commercial growth] is probably helping you sit in traffic more," Muller said, "but they are picking up a big share of the tax load," and Whitehall residents "should hope that our assessments [for commercial property] hold up," referring to the challenges that often follow a steep tax boost. Property tax reassessments reveal upside of MacArthur Road congestion |
Wednesday, 11 April 2012
Property tax reassessments reveal upside of MacArthur Road congestion
