Erlanger will likely lower its property tax rates for an eleventh year in a row and use some of the proceeds to help fund park maintenance and improvements.
Erlanger City Council moved forward with the first reading of a motion on the new property tax rates at its meeting Tuesday evening. The measure, first proposed at a caucus meeting on Aug. 19, recommends imposing rates of $0.244 per $100 of valuation ($2.44 per $1,000) for real property and $0.178 per $100 of valuation ($1.78 per $1,000) for tangible property.
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.
How do property taxes work?
Real property refers to real estate, including residential houses and business office buildings and facilities. Tangible property, or personal property, refers to movable assets that aren’t real estate.
The proposed property tax rates are lower than the current rates, which stand at $0.247 per $1,000 of valuation for real property and $0.198 per $100 of valuation for tangible property.
According to city officials, 12% of all real estate tax revenue would be put towards Erlanger’s Park Improvement Fund, created in 2021 to maintain city parks. According to the fund’s Master Park Plan, its three objectives are to preserve existing infrastructure, comply with safety, health, and code requirements, and improve park deficient areas.
Previously, Mayor Jessica Fette said that real property tax values increased 1.4% in 2024, totaling $1.89 billion, and tangible property increased 11.5%, totaling $1.87 million. Erlanger budgeted more than $4.73 million in property tax revenues for fiscal year 2026, and the new rates would exceed the city’s estimated revenues by more than $277,000.
If approved, the new property tax rates would take effect on Oct. 1 and remain in place through the remainder of the fiscal year, ending June 30, 2026. Residents who pay their bill before Nov. 1 can receive a 2% discount. Those who don’t pay their bill by the end of the year will be charged a 20% penalty with interest.
City Council must approve a second reading of the property tax ordinance at its next meeting on Sept. 2 for the new rate to go into effect.
