What happened with your property taxes this year?

Our bill will actually be down this year, but only because our exemptions finally went into effect.

Public records show that The Tribune’s property tax bill went up 24 percent. Jackson County Assessor Bev Gaiter said earlier this week that she expects property taxes to increase an average of 25 percent, saying she’s seen some increase dramatically while she’s seen others that increased as little as $100.

Gaiter said those that stayed close to what they were last years is likely a result of the assessments having been accurate from the start. More dramatic increases are a result of increasing property values of properties in a particular neighborhood.

As for her own property tax bill? Gaiter said her bill is up $600 this year for her Brownstown Township home. Curt Kovener, the Vernon Township trustee, said his is up, too.

We’ve asked readers of The Tribune and TribTown.com to share their tax stories with us, how the increases will affect their budgets and their families. We’ve also asked anyone who’s bill goes down to share that with other readers, too.

So far, we’ve had one response. I’ve not been able to contact this e-mail writer yet, so I won’t identify them, but the note said their property tax bill increased by 49 percent. Ouch. That could sure hurt your family budget.

Let us know what’s happening with you.

Thanks for reading Dan’s blog, and thanks for reading TribTown.com.