Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Property Taxes topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Resident warns piggyback change could shift property-tax burden to renters
Summary
A Timberlake resident told the Lake County commissioners the state "piggyback" change—which raises the owner-occupancy credit to 15.38% while phasing out a 10% nonbusiness rollback—may shift costs to renters and reduce local taxing capacity; commissioners explained statewide mechanics and said the state will backfill certain losses.
John Marr, a Timberlake resident, used his public-comment time at the Lake County commissioners workshop to raise questions about recent state changes to property-tax credits known informally as "piggybacks." Marr said the owner-occupancy credit will rise to 15.38% while a 10% nonbusiness rollback was being phased out, and he warned the net effect could shift costs onto renters and landlords.
"Where's that money gonna come from to increase that, and who's it gonna affect?" Marr asked. He argued landlords will lose the rollback and pass costs to renters unless other legislation prevents rent increases and cited local school-district levies as complicating factors.
A commissioner replied that the statutory changes expand the owner-occupancy relief to homeowners statewide and that the state will "backfill" entities, including schools and municipalities, for certain losses. The commissioner said the net statewide increase over the next four years is roughly 2.88 percent in the owner-occupancy credit and described how some levies and millage calculations will be affected by recent legislative changes.
Why it matters: property-tax credits and rollback mechanics determine how the tax burden is distributed among homeowners, landlords and renters and affect local fiscal capacity for schools, townships and municipalities. Marr said the local effect on his property tax had been significant and questioned whether residents had been given full information before local action. Commissioners suggested further conversation and said they would continue to explain the mechanics and impacts in future meetings.
No formal action or vote on piggyback policies occurred at the workshop; the exchange was presented as a public question and a commissioner-level explanation of statewide mechanics.
