By Kirk McCracken
Tulsa County Treasurer John Fothergill tells KRMG that around 70 bills have been proposed involving the reduction of annual property tax increases, and they also focus on capping assessment hikes and expanding exemptions.
The property tax increase bill gaining the most traction was introduced by President Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton. Non-homestead property increases will drop from 5% to 3%, and for homestead properties, the increase will drop from 3% to 1%. Fothergill says these decreases could affect the county, but they will mainly affect public schools.
“When I collect property taxes in Tulsa County, 57% of that goes to K through 12 schools. It will affect the county a little bit, but it will affect the schools a lot,” he said. “It will cut into education at some point.
Fothergill said with 70 bills being filed, something will pass because it’s an election year, and politicians will want to say they reduced taxes.
