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Wayne County unveils online property-tax simulator to show residents how their tax dollars are spent
Summary
County staff demonstrated a new GIS-linked property tax simulator that lets residents look up their property and see a line-by-line breakdown of how county property-tax dollars are allocated to major buckets including public safety, education and debt service.
Wayne County on March 3 unveiled an online property-tax simulator staff said is designed to help residents see how county property-tax dollars are allocated.
County public affairs staffer Joel Gilly demonstrated the tool during a board meeting, showing how a property owner can type an address or name and receive an itemized breakdown by major “buckets” — public safety, education, debt service and smaller departmental line items — and then drill down into departments such as the sheriff’s office or detention center. "This breaks it all down here," Gilly said during his presentation, noting the application is integrated with the county’s GIS and has been live on the county website for about a week.
Gilly told commissioners roughly 150 people had used the tool since it was posted. He said the simulator includes notes and caveats: it reflects the originally adopted budget (budget amendments made after adoption will not automatically appear), shows only county tax (not municipal taxes, solid-waste fees or volunteer fire taxes) and reports net values for departments that offset revenue against expenses. The system also displays department-level alternates such as debt service and segregated lines for items like volunteer fire taxes.
Commissioners praised the project as a transparency initiative. "We want people to understand where their money goes," Chair Joe Daltry said, adding the tool will make the county’s budget more intelligible to taxpayers who otherwise struggle to read long budget spreadsheets. Tax administrator Allan (as referenced by staff) also tested the system and flagged it as easy to use.
Gilly said the county will release a public communications campaign and a press release to build awareness, and staff included a simple in-tool feedback button so the county can refine the interface if residents find it confusing.
Next steps: staff will circulate the demonstration materials to commissioners and move forward with planned public messaging to increase use of the tool.
