Hello Sussex County, Delaware! 

We are going to dive into an important process that impacts all property owners: property reassessment. 

But what exactly is property reassessment? In simple terms, reassessment is the process of updating the value of properties within a county to ensure that everyone pays their fair share of property taxes based on the current market value of their property. Over time, property values can change due to market fluctuations, improvements, or other factors. Reassessment helps reflect those changes accurately. 

The goal of reassessment is to create a fair and equitable distribution of the tax burden across all property owners. When reassessment is done properly, it ensures that no one is paying more or less than their fair share. 

County property taxes (which make up 10% of your tax bill) fund essential community services like, libraries, general government services, and public safety. Ninety percent of your property tax bill funds schools.  By keeping property values current, reassessment supports the fair allocation of these resources, ensuring our community thrives. 

Ultimately, reassessment is about fairness. It's about making sure that every property owner contributes equitably to the services and infrastructure that make our community a great place to live. 

Here's a breakdown of how it all works...

Let's start by creating a small neighborhood, within the county, with three unique homes. Each of these homes has a different market value: the first home is worth $200,000, the second is valued at $250,000, and the third at $350,000. Remember... Property taxes fund essential services like schools, libraries, government services, and public safety. 

In this case, to cover the cost of these services, the county needs to collect $2,400. 

The tax rate is the total of what the County must collect to operate, divided by all the assessed value of properties in the County. This is how they calculate how much each homeowner pays. In this example, the County must collect $2,400 and the total assessed value is $800,000. When you divide the 2, this equates to a tax rate of .3 cents.  

In order to get what each property owner owes in taxes, you take the assessed value times the tax rate of .3 cents…. So the first home would pay $600, the second $750 and the third, $1050. This system ensures that each property owner contributes fairly based on their property's value. 

Let's recap what we've covered so far: 

Assessments determine the market value of each property. 

The total assessed value is used to calculate the tax rate. 

Property taxes fund essential county and state services like schools, libraries, general government services and public safety. 

Now, let's imagine a year has passed and all property values increased but they all increased at the same percentage – 20%. The tax rate is recalculated based on the new total assessment. As a result, each homeowner still pays the same amount in taxes because the cost of services hasn't changed. 

Here's what we've learned: 

An increase in property values doesn't necessarily mean higher taxes. 

If all assessments increase equally, everyone pays the same, as long as the cost of services stays the same. 

But what if property values don't increase equally? Let's say the first home's value stays the same, the second home's value increases by 6%, and the third home's value increases by 10%. If the cost of services remains $2,400 the tax rate will adjust accordingly. In this case, the first home would pay less in taxes, while the third home, which increased in value the most, would pay more. 

When property values change at different rates, the tax burden is redistributed. However, the total amount collected in taxes remains the same. 

What happens if the cost of services goes up? Let's say services now cost $3,600. This would result in a higher tax rate, meaning everyone pays more. 

But what if a new home is built, adding $400,000 to the total property value?  Despite the cost of services going up, the additional assessment from the new improvement helped cover the increase in cost for service therefore keeping the tax rate the same for the previous built properties. 

Key takeaways are: 

The total assessed value is used to calculate tax rates. 

An increase in property value doesn't always mean higher taxes. 

Additional improvements helps distribute the tax burden. 

Taxes are based on the cost of providing services. 

This hypothetical scenario shows how property reassessment and taxation work.