What happens to the Property Tax money?

[Alex_angel]

There was an article this weekend that the county collects over $4 bilion dollars from property taxes now compared to about $1 billion 5 years ago. They stated the number of new houses coupled with this increase in price has drove this number up.

What happens to this money? I know they use a lot to build roads but come on. Quadrupling this money over the last few years must have created some sort of surplus , unless of course the good old politicians are pocketing this all.

[betting on fall]

This chart won’t tell you exactly what it is spent on, but it will tell you who gets it:
http://www.co.san-diego.ca.us/ttc/insert_allocated.html

[betting on fall]

This chart won’t tell you exactly what it is spent on, but it will tell you who gets it:
http://www.co.san-diego.ca.us/ttc/insert_allocated.html

[FoamFinger1]

The money gets buried in a big hole outside Sac. Unfortunately, nobody kept a map of all the hiding spots.

[FoamFinger1]

The money gets buried in a big hole outside Sac. Unfortunately, nobody kept a map of all the hiding spots.

[Nonbeliever]

Come guys. Haven’t you all noticed the four fold increase in the number of Police, Fire, and other civil service personnel around making your lives better and safer? I am sure all of that extra money has found its way into the hands of people who do not need it and likely misuse it. Although, maybe aside from all of the foreclosures going on, tax lien sales could start to sprout up more? After all, the city HAS to have its money in order to keep funcitoning, right?

[Nonbeliever]

Come guys. Haven’t you all noticed the four fold increase in the number of Police, Fire, and other civil service personnel around making your lives better and safer? I am sure all of that extra money has found its way into the hands of people who do not need it and likely misuse it. Although, maybe aside from all of the foreclosures going on, tax lien sales could start to sprout up more? After all, the city HAS to have its money in order to keep funcitoning, right?

[nostradamus]

Hey that chart doesn’t show the billions allocated to our sports teams!

[nostradamus]

Hey that chart doesn’t show the billions allocated to our sports teams!

[jennyo]

Local property tax revenue surpluses have largely been used to hire more public safety employees and to increase the salaries/benefits of those employees over the past few years, to probably unsustainable levels. San Diego is the poster child for this. Local public safety agencies statewide have been playing leapfrog with salaries and benefits for police and fire for several years. Most safety employees can retire at 50 with 3 percent of their highest salary for every year worked, plus lifetime medical benefits. Many of these employees get disability retirements due to the strenuous nature of their jobs and therefore only have to pay income tax on 50 percent of their pension income.

The state gets very little property tax, its revenues come from the “big 3”–the personal income tax, the sales tax, and corporation tax. That (among other reasons) is why the state continued to face structural deficits even when real estate was booming from 2001-2005. Income tax revenues are very volatile. The locals have been riding a gravy train since 2001 and are going to start howling soon because the revenue growth has come to a halt. The smart ones, that spent the funds on one-time purposes like infrastructure improvements or set aside rainy-day funds will be fine. But those that expanded safety employee benefits are in for some hard times, with few options for cutting costs. Trying to reduce or eliminate pension benefits from public safety “heroes” is political suicide.

[jennyo]

Local property tax revenue surpluses have largely been used to hire more public safety employees and to increase the salaries/benefits of those employees over the past few years, to probably unsustainable levels. San Diego is the poster child for this. Local public safety agencies statewide have been playing leapfrog with salaries and benefits for police and fire for several years. Most safety employees can retire at 50 with 3 percent of their highest salary for every year worked, plus lifetime medical benefits. Many of these employees get disability retirements due to the strenuous nature of their jobs and therefore only have to pay income tax on 50 percent of their pension income.

The state gets very little property tax, its revenues come from the “big 3”–the personal income tax, the sales tax, and corporation tax. That (among other reasons) is why the state continued to face structural deficits even when real estate was booming from 2001-2005. Income tax revenues are very volatile. The locals have been riding a gravy train since 2001 and are going to start howling soon because the revenue growth has come to a halt. The smart ones, that spent the funds on one-time purposes like infrastructure improvements or set aside rainy-day funds will be fine. But those that expanded safety employee benefits are in for some hard times, with few options for cutting costs. Trying to reduce or eliminate pension benefits from public safety “heroes” is political suicide.

[waterboy]

Its in a reserve fund right now because of all the owners who won’t be able to make their payment in the next few years

[waterboy]

Its in a reserve fund right now because of all the owners who won’t be able to make their payment in the next few years

[patientlywaiting]

I don’t feel like I’m getting quadruple the services from a few years ago.

Where are the true fiscal conservatives and small government advocates?

[patientlywaiting]

I don’t feel like I’m getting quadruple the services from a few years ago.

Where are the true fiscal conservatives and small government advocates?

[Author]

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