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Boone County cuts 2025 property tax rate, holds motor-vehicle rate flat
Summary
Boone County Fiscal Court on Aug. 19 voted unanimously to set the 2025 real-property rate at 8.5¢ per $100 of assessed value (down from 9.2¢), the tangible/personal-property rate at 9.5¢ and leave the motor-vehicle rate at 14.2¢, a move staff said balances modest taxpayer relief with budget targets and reserve needs.
Boone County Fiscal Court voted unanimously Aug. 19 to set the 2025 ad valorem tax rates at 8.5¢ per $100 for real property, 9.5¢ for tangible/personal property and 14.2¢ for motor vehicles.
Staff presented the recommendation after the Department of Local Government certified Boone County's valuations on July 29. Matthew, a county staff member who led the presentation, told the court the compensating (revenue-neutral) rate for real property was 9.1¢ and a 4% growth rate would have been 9.4¢; staff recommended 8.5¢ to provide tax relief while still meeting the court-approved budget.
"It is the staff recommendation tonight that we cut taxes to 8.5 and 9.5," Matthew said during the presentation, adding that the recommended rates would produce roughly $17 million in real and personal property revenue and leave the county about $50,000 below the approved budget in those categories—an amount staff said could be absorbed without service reductions.
Treasurer Lisa Getz and Matthew walked commissioners through valuation and revenue numbers, noting total assessed value growth across categories was modest. Staff said adopting the compensating rate instead of the recommended rate would have generated roughly $1.2 million more revenue than the budgeted expectation; the recommended rollback was described as a deliberate, budget-driven choice to avoid accumulating excess reserves while continuing to fund recurring infrastructure contributions.
Commissioners asked about implications for the infrastructure fund and reserves. Matthew confirmed the recurring infrastructure contribution remains $1,897,331 per year under the adopted budget and that the recommendation was intended to preserve services while reducing rates.
Commissioner Hans moved to adopt the staff recommendation; Commissioner Flagg seconded. The motion carried on a unanimous voice vote.
The ad valorem rates will be used for tax bills issued in the 2025 cycle; staff noted statutory deadlines tied to state certification that govern the rate-setting process.
