Knox Public Health is seeking approval of a 1 mill operating levy on the Nov. 8 ballot. The proposed health levy is a replacement of the current 0.8 mill levy with a 0.2 mill increase. The current levy expires next year.
The replacement levy is for five years, with tax collection beginning in 2024, based on 2023 property values. The proposed levy will generate approximately $1.6 million a year, which accounts for nearly 20 percent of the public health budget and helps fund a variety of essential services and programs.
The levy will cost additional $7 a year per $100,000 of property market value**
| Market Value of Your Home |
Previous Cost Per Year |
New Cost Per Year |
| $100,000 | $28.00 | $35.00 |
| $150,000 | $42.00 | $52.50 |
| $250,000 | $70.00 | $87.50 |
** The figures represented above are based on the 0.8 mill levy rate implemented in 2018, which is currently rolled back to 0.7 because of increased property value. Currently, with .7 mills, the tax collected on $100,000 is $24.70.
Rollbacks, updates and assessments
Factors that affect the actual amount of real estate taxes collected include: a roll back of the tax rate, tax updates and tax reassessments. According to state law, county auditors conduct a full reappraisal of real property every six years and update property values in the third year following each sexennial reappraisal. The update is based on home sales for the previous three years; the assessment is the result of a 2-year evaluation of each property to assess improvements or deterioration. According to the current state schedules, Knox County property taxes are set to be updated in 2023 and reappraised in 2026.
A levy is a request for a certain amount of funding based on the current tax rate once it is approved. Due to the update and reappraisal processes, this amount can increase. To correct this situation, the state will “roll back the tax rate” to be more reflective of the initial levy request. This usually happens after the first year of tax collection and can happen in subsequent years to reflect new housing or commercial activity. The current Health Levy will be affected by these audit processes.
Who benefits from your total tax bill?
Anyone who owns property pays real estate tax on that property whether it is just an emply lot or a house or a building for a business. Your total tax bill is divided between 12 or more entities who rely on those taxes to operate. If you are a property owner and would like to see how much of your total tax bill goes to each enitiy, go to the Knox County Auditor’s website, enter your address in the search bar in the top right-hand corner. If it does not immediately appear, follow the directions on the page to either enter your address or your name to get to your property. A page with details about your property will appear. At the top of the page, click on the Tax Distribution tab; a page will appear displaying a breakdown of your local tax bill, showing how much goes to each entity, i.e. Parks, Board of Health, Board of DD, Public Library, Township, Fire District, Schools, etc. There’s even a pie chart to graphically show you how your taxes are distributed.
Currently, the Health Levy is the 4th smallest tax levy in Knox County.
The first tax levy to support the health district was .4 milll levy that passed in 1988. Since then, Knox County voters have approved a tax levy every five years to support essential services and valuable programming for the health district. The health levy remained at .4 mills until 2012 when it was increased to .8 mills. The current request of a 1 mill levy is only the second increase in millage in 34 years.
