A police chief stands at a podium in front of a dais with six people seated. A city seal and flag is behind the dais.
The date of the council meeting, September 11, was not lost on Bellevue city leaders. City Administrator Frank Warnock took the opportunity to thank Police Chief Jon McClain (at podium), his department and all first responders for their service to the community. Seated l to r: Mayor Charlie Cleves, Warnock, city attorney Tim Schneider, council members Ryan Salzman, Mike Almoslechner, Shauna Kruse. Photo by Robin Gee | LINK nky

Bellevue property owners will pay a lower tax rate if city council approves the new rate.

The property tax rate for the 2024/2025 fiscal year will be .339 or $3.39 per $1000 in assessed value. This is a 15% decrease from last year’s rate of $3.98 per $1000, said City Administrator Frank Warnock.

Council member Sean Fisher noted the new rate represents the compensating rate set by the state plus the 4% additional allowed by state law.

How do property taxes work?

Property taxes are broken down into several categories. The first and usually largest chunk of your tax bill is real property tax, sometimes referred to as real estate property tax. This is essentially a tax on everything you own that’s nailed down. For residents, this means houses and other real estate property. For businesses, this means office buildings and other buildings and facilities used to conduct business.

Tangible personal property, on the other hand, is another form of property that isn’t real estate. Depending on where you live, residents may not be taxed on personal property at all–this will vary by jurisdiction.

Depending on where you live, other tax-adjacent fees may apply.

Read more here.

“We’re taking 4% more revenue this year because we need to pay our city employees and keep up — and yet, the tax rate is going down,” he noted. “We are choosing to take that 4% more revenue so that we can continue to pay our police department and others.”

The city will vote on the tax ordinance at its next meeting.

Council members took the opportunity during discussion of city revenue to thank city staff and departments for their service.

Remembering 9-11

Gratitude, especially for the city’s first responders, was a theme of the council meeting. Noting the date, Mayor Charlie Cleves had opened the meeting with a moment of silence and a remembrance of those killed in the attack at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.

The mayor read a statement to commemorate the day starting with a brief history of the attack, noting that close to 3,000 people lost their lives and thousands more were injured. He noted the bravery of the first responders at the scene.

“We cannot thank our first responders enough for what they do for us. I want to thank Police Chief Jon McClain and Fire Chief Chris Adkins for their leadership and all the men and women who work as first responders in Bellevue and Dayton,” he added.