And now... the good news

N.O. tax rate dives 27 percent
Posted by The Times-Picayune November 30, 2007 9:06PM

By Gordon Russell
Staff writer

Making good on a unanimous pledge, the New Orleans City Council slashed the city's tax rate by 27 percent to 128.44 mills, a rate that makes owning property in the city competitive with neighboring Jefferson Parish for the first time in years.

The action, made possible by a huge readjustment of historically inaccurate property assessments in New Orleans, also brings the city's tax rate well below that of St. Tammany Parish, the suburb that has drawn city dwellers like a magnet in recent years.

The news should make the new property valuations -- massive spikes for some homeowners -- somewhat more palatable. For instance, the owners of a home that was valued at $750,000 last year and is now appraised at $1 million should see virtually no increase in their taxes. The same would apply to the owners of a home whose value went from $200,000 to $250,000.

In other words, the massive revaluation of property in New Orleans will not result in a massive tax increase for most property owners... at least for now. This leaves us with a much fairer and more rational system of property assessments and a significantly lower property tax rate exactly the way Oyster repeatedly said it would.

This is thanks in no small part to a surprisingly principled stand taken by a newly emboldened City Council which found a way to pass the 2008 budget without caving to the Mayor's demand for a property tax "roll forward". It's a remarkable event which I think indicates the increasing political weakness of our lame duck Mayor. It is also an example of how an engaged and motivated electorate can affect the actions of their representatives through pressure and vigilance... however sloppily or incoherently that pressure is expressed. In the absence of such agitation, I find it hard to believe that we would have seen these results.

It would be a mistake, however, to assume that this is the end of this particular opera. These kinds of political battles are never really won. Two years from now, we may find property taxes rocketing upward once more. But for now, enjoy the good news.