Editorial by Kayleen Holder and KK Calame (Editor & Publisher)
It’s no secret that Medina County has experienced an enormous amount of growth in the past 15 years. In many cases, county commissioners utilized tax incentives to attract growth and developers with the vision that it would someday lift some of the tax burden off of current residents.
Over 4,500 new families have moved to Medina County in the past five years. In 2017, Medina County had 18,791 homes, and five years later in 2023 there are 23,324 homes here, according to reports.
The county has also seen substantial commercial and industrial growth with facilities like Microsoft and the quarries.
As a result of the growth, county revenues have risen considerably.
In fact, county revenues have more than doubled from approximately $30 million in 2017-18 to over $66 million in the 2022-23 budget.
With this steady growth in the county’s revenue, many residents are asking leaders when the healthy growth we’ve experienced is going to lift some of the burden off of homeowners who reside here?
Medina County recieved a record number of protests from residents after tax bills arrived, around 4,500 protests this year which is 500 more than last year according to the appraisal district (and last year was also a record year for tax protests).
While home values have increased, and appraisals must be accurate, Medina County Commissioners have control over the TAX RATE used to calculate our tax bills.
Current Commissioners are: Larry Sittre, David Lynch, Tim Neuman, and newly elected Danny Lawler. The court is led by newly elected Judge Keith Lutz.
The Medina County Comissioner’s Court sets the tax rate each Septemeber. Budget meetings are already in progress.
Both appraisals and TAX RATE affects tax bills
There has been a 118% increase in appraised values in Medina County from 2017 to 2023, according to projected appraisals from the Medina County Appraisal office.
The 2023 appraisals and protests have not been finalized yet.
“The increase is due to new industrial properties, new developments, and the overall market in general,” Johnette Dixon notes.
Many new high-end homes have moved into our county in the past 15 years, driving up comps and appraisals. In a previous interview, Dixon explained “We have to appraise properties at what it would sell for based on what similar properties have sold for.”
Example, if an acre of land sells for $50,000, that raises the appraisal value of acreage in that area significantly. And if aappraisals aren’t done correctly, it could jeopardize school district funding.
The county has lowered the tax rate some within the past seven years……but commissioners have never voted to lower the Medina County tax rate to the “effective tax rate or No-New Revenue Rate” (within the past 7 years).
The effective tax rate (or No New Revenue rate) is the rate needed for the county to generate the same amount of income as the previous year (effectively not increasing property tax bills overall even when appraisals increase).
MORE STATS
Total appraised values in Medina County :
2017 – $2,857,428,102
2018 – $3,007,626,516
2019 – $3,476,214,251
2020 – $3,832,984,245
2021 – $4,374,084,631
2022 – $5,232,813,305
2023 – $6,254,349,224 (PROJECTED, NOT FINAL)
Home Values
In the past seven years, the average value of homes here in Medina County have increased by 113%.
The average home values for Medina County have increased as follows:
2017 – $138,052
2019 – $155,957
2020 – $169,092
2021 – $200,347
2022 – $253,805
2023 – $295,180
Medina County Property appraisals have increased by 118% in past seven years
There has been a 118% increase in appraised values in Medina County from 2017 to 2023, according to projected appraisals from the Medina County Appraisal office.
The 2023 appraisals and protests have not been finalized yet.
“The increase is due to new industrial properties, new developments, and the overall market in general,” Johnette Dixon notes.
Many new high-end homes have moved into our county in the past 15 years, adding to the issue of increased appraisals. In a previous interview, Dixon explained “We have to appraise properties at what it would sell for based on what similar properties have sold for.”
If appraisals aren’t done correctly, it could jeopardize school district funding.
Yet many in the community have expressed great concern as rising tax bills arrived.
The other thing affecting the property tax bills is the county’s tax rate, which is set by Medina County Commissioner’s Court each year in September.
Current Commissioners are: Larry Sittre, David Lynch, Tim Neuman, and newly elected Danny Lawler.
The county has lowered the tax rate some within this time frame, but commissioners have never voted to lower Medina County to the “effective tax rate or No-New Revenue Rate” (within the past 7 years). This is something that former Commissioner Jerry Beck pushed for, but was all alone when it was put to a vote.
The effective tax rate (or No New Revenue rate) is the rate needed for the county to generate the same amount of income as the previous year (effectively not increasing property tax bills even when appraisals increase).
Total appraised values in Medina County :
2017 – $2,857,428,102
2018 – $3,007,626,516
2019 – $3,476,214,251
2020 – $3,832,984,245
2021 – $4,374,084,631
2022 – $5,232,813,305
2023 – $6,254,349,224 (PROJECTED, NOT FINAL)
Home Values
In the past seven years, the average value of homes here in Medina County have increased by 113%.
The average home values for Medina County have increased as follows:
2017 – $138,052
2019 – $155,957
2020 – $169,092
2021 – $200,347
2022 – $253,805
2023 – $295,180
