It's completely messed up that a change in regional average property value could cause a change in total tax revenue. This causes a city's tax income to vary wi

It's completely messed up that a change in regional average property value could cause a change in total tax revenue. This causes a city's tax income to vary wildly. Cities take on obligations (bonds, salary increases, pensions) in good times and then hit disaster in bad times. We fight this in a stupid way. We limit tax increases for a property, with a reset upon sale. This discourages people from moving closer to work, causing our roads to be clogged with commuters. The right way is to say that assessed home value relates to the total portion of the city budget that your taxes must support. Your tax bill then wouldn't change unless the city budget changes or the relative value of your property changes. Subjecting the total city budget to voter approval is OK. Basically the problem is millage rate. The dollar value of your property should not directly (by simple multiplication or division) translate into a tax amount. It should instead translate into a portion of the total. That is, it should represent your share.