Clay County Commission signals revenue-neutral approach for general property tax levy after reassessment surge

Clay County commissioners indicated they will move forward next week with a revenue-neutral option for the countygeneral property tax levy after the county auditor presented reassessment results and levy calculations.

Auditor Victor Hurlburt told the commission that assessed valuation for 2025 is close to $7.5 billion, roughly a 12% increase from the prior year that was driven primarily by real estate reassessments. He explained the Hancock amendment limits aggregate local revenue growth to the lesser of CPI (set at 2.9% by the State Tax Commission for 2024) or 5%, which requires many levies to be rolled back even when reassessed valuations rise. New construction is exempt from Hancock calculations, he said, which explains why some levy revenues can still increase.

Commissioner Whittington proposed matching a revenue-neutral approach, lowering the county's general mill rate to 0.0179 so the county does not increase the total tax burden despite higher values. "I've done it every year since I've been here. I'm gonna keep doing it," Whittington said. Several colleagues, including Commissioners Carpenter and Johnson, supported the neutrality proposal, noting it restrains growth in county revenue while acknowledging it reduces how much more money the county would otherwise collect.

Commissioner Wagner pressed for caution, saying the disparity between the county's levy and fixed road-district levies will grow, which could shift cost burdens onto the general fund in future years. He asked staff to provide estimates of likely new expense requests (sheriff staffing and compensation study outcomes, road-district payout schedules) so commissioners can see what they are choosing to constrain.

Administrator and auditor staff confirmed the county published the required public-hearing notice and will host a hearing next week (the county set levies by Oct. 1 for charter counties). Administrators said outside agencies affected by levy changes (mental health, senior services, developmental disabilities) were notified and invited to the hearing. Commissioners stopped short of adopting a final levy ordinance at this meeting; they signaled consensus to present the revenue-neutral option at next week's hearing for a formal vote.