With the change in the real estate market over the last year or so, many Richmond area residents were probably hoping that tax assessment increases for the 2007 tax year would be less dramatic than in the past few years.  Imagine the surprise of Chesterfield County residents when many of them saw average increases of 20% over 2006.

Not to be outdone, the City of Richmond also sent some unpleasant tax bills to its residents.  One of whom, Donald F. Chandler II, of Brook Rd., found that his assessment had increased a whopping 91% over 2006!  He successfully appealed his assessment to the City and it has now been reduced to within the approximate resale value of the home if he were to put it on the market now.

Tax relief is on the minds of the Mayor and City Council.  Mayor Wilder proposed limiting the increase in real estate revenue to 10 percent per year, which would require a 4-cent decrease in the tax rate from $1.29 to $1.25.  City Council members, Bill Pantele and Rita  Trammel applauded the mayor's initiative and promised to work hard to lower the tax rate again this year. Last year, the council lowered the rate to $1.29 per $100 of assessed value.  Councilwoman Trammell has proposed a tax relief plan.  Under the plan, any citizen – regardless of age or income – could defer payment on any amount that exceeded a five percent increase of last year's assessment. The accumulated amount of taxes deferred would have to be paid upon sale of the property, or within one year after the owner's death.

In Chesterfield, the chairman of the Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors wants to ease the tax burden on seniors struggling with sticker shock from their increased real estate assessments.   He has asked county staff to investigate the option of allowing seniors to defer paying real estate taxes until their property changes hands or they die. It's an option that  Richmond also is exploring. 

Chesterfield demographer Bill Handley said there were slightly more than 21,000 county residents 65 and older in 2000.

"It would be reasonable to expect that in five years, we've added 5,000 to 7,000 more, and that's because a lot of people are aging in place," he said.