REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. - A lot has changed over the last 44 years, except property assessments in Rehoboth Beach.
The city is considering its first reassessment since 1968. Mayor Sam Cooper said the changing dynamics of the local real estate market and low price of the proposal led him to pursue the idea.
"It's not about raising more tax money at all," Cooper said. "It's about equitable distribution of the taxes we do collect."
City leaders would likely cut the property tax rate to as low as a nickel to reflect reassessed values. Some will pay more, others will pay less, but the city would take in about the same amount of revenue.
Cooper said the value of land has outpaced the increasing value of homes since the last assessment; people with larger lots would likely end up paying more than someone with a large house on a small lot.
"If you have a very nice piece of ocean front property, you're going to pay more because your land will have gone up dramatically and your house only modestly," Cooper said.
The average property tax bill within the city is between $350 and $400, said City Manager Greg Ferrese. The city expects to take in about $1.3 million in property tax revenue this year, only a fraction of its overall budget.
The city said an assessment company has offered to complete the service for about $40 a property, nearly a third of the price charged by competitors.
City commissioners need to approve the measure. Taxpayers likely would not see changes until 2013 at the earliest.
