Scottsdale citizens should be pleased to know that the city is looking out for you. For the fiscal year 2009-10, the city council has plans to lower property taxes and minimize increases to the cost of utilities, including sewer, water, recycling and refuse services.  That’s very good news, especially during a time of recession.

The proposed rate will reduce your property taxes from $.79 to around $.74 per $100 of assessed value.  That’s around a 9% drop.  Based on the city’s example, if you own a home valued at $400,000 last year and the value remains the same this year, you will see a decrease of $20 in property tax in the new tax year.  I don’t get the same figure when I do the calculation, so if you have questions, please contact the appraiser’s office.

The city council adopted a total budget of $1.1 billion, which is down from the previous year’s budget of $1.4 billion.  Included in the budget are the city’s public facilities multi-year projects and rate-funded utility programs.

Utilities will increase by around 2.4%.  That equals half as much as the previous year’s utility bill increase.  According to the city, the average homeowner will only pay about $1.90 more per month.  That’s the lowest jump in five years.  Utilities haven’t been this low in Scottsdale since 2005.

Included in the combined rate are primary taxes that fund city operations and secondary taxes that fund construction and maintenance for city streets and facilities.  The council built a caveat into the budget that assumes operating revenues would decrease by another 4%.  That percentage is based on eliminating 200 city staff positions.  In addition, the adopted budget would require reductions in excess of $9 million before the next fiscal year beginning July 1, 2010.

Now that you’ve passed Scottsdale City Budget 101, go forth and prosper.

With all these reductions, maybe it is a good time to look for Scottsdale, AZ Homes for Sale.