Oh, those pesky property taxes. They're a necessary evil of homeownership and you might feel like they go to Uncle Sam's big black hole of a money pot.
However, they're actually used for a bunch of things to keep your community in tip-top shape. In fact, property taxes are the largest source of revenue for most towns and cities.
Here's some of the top ways your property taxes get put to use.
It's for the kids! A large portion of the average American's property taxes go towards building new public schools and helping to maintain the existing ones. They also go towards paying teachers' salaries. Property taxes may also be used to fund community learning centers for adults and your local public library. Social services programs also depend on this funding.
Safety is a major priority in every community. Although it varies from state to state, up to 10% of funding to keep your town safe comes from property tax dollars. Police, fire, and emergency medical service worker salaries are paid through property taxes. They also fund new equipment and vehicles and are used to make improvements to buildings and facilities. Your property taxes also go towards legal payouts to lawsuits against your local municipality.
Those street sweepers don't pay for themselves! Property taxes are used to fund community sanitation efforts, like street cleaning and trash pickup. They also go towards keeping water and sewer systems clean and running smoothly and are used to make infrastructure improvements, like replacing old pipes.
Your favorite public outdoor chill spot is brought to you by (you guessed it) – property taxes! The landscaping and maintenance of your local parks is all funded through community tax dollars. In addition to regular parks, nature preserves and local ball fields also rely on property tax money. If your community has plans to build a new park, officials will take a look at property tax revenue to come up with the project's budget.
Guess what? The President doesn't spend your property taxes...but your local & state government reps do! Here’s three small things you can do that make a BIG impact:
