Williamsburg adds $1.78 million to tax rolls over last 12 months

The City of Williamsburg is growing.

Over the past year, $1.78 million worth of new property has been added to the Williamsburg tax rolls, which would include things, such as construction of new homes and businesses.

This was part of the message that Williamsburg Mayor Roddy Harrison had for the Williamsburg City Council during the Sept. 17 council meeting, which was held in-person at Williamsburg City Hall for the first time since March.

City officials determined the amount of new property by looking at new building permits, new water hookups, and things of that nature, Harrison said.

In all Williamsburg has a total of $205,048,287 in total taxable assessments, which include: $14,218,800 in motor vehicles, $236,215 in watercraft, $161,749,777 in real property, and $28,843,495 in tangible property, which would include things such as store inventories, equipment used by businesses, business furnishings, and appliances provided for renters.

Real property assessments were up $7,507,322 compared to the prior year, while tangible assessments decreased $498,764 compared to the prior year.

The city also has $11,921,510 worth of exemptions, which includes things such as homestead exemptions, property bought by charities or non-profit organizations, and assessments that were lowered after appeals were filed. This was about a $1.2 million increase over the prior year.

The council held the first reading of the ordinance setting the 2020 property tax rates Thursday, and approved the second reading of the tax rate ordinance during a special called meeting Monday afternoon.

For all intents and purposes, the tax rate for real property is unchanged going from 34.2 cents per $100 of assessed value in 2019 to 34.1 cents per $100 of assessed value in 2020.

The tax rate for tangible property increased from 41.36 cents per $100 of assessed value in 2019 to 43.99 cents per $100 of assessed value in 2020.

Harrison put the increased tangible tax rate in perspective noting that someone owning $5,000 worth of tangible property would see their tax bill increase from $20.68 to $21.99. Someone owning $60,000 worth of tangible property would see their tax bill increase from $248.16 cents to $263.94, while someone owning $250,000 in tangible property would see their tax bill increase from $1,034 to $1,099.75.