The assessor was sorry he missed me.

May 19, 2026, 04:11 PM

Rey HRH

I understand how a whole house generator “adds value” to your house but it’s insurance. Does your car’s value increase just because you have insurance or a fire extinguisher in it?

"It did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us. We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead to think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life – daily and hourly. Our answer must consist not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual." Viktor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning, 1946.

May 19, 2026, 08:05 PM

ridewv

quote:
Originally posted by Rey HRH:
I understand how a whole house generator “adds value” to your house but it’s insurance. Does your car’s value increase just because you have insurance or a fire extinguisher in it?

Value is all they care about, here at least. Keeping your property in good condition adds value (and tax), poor condition lowers value. Pave your gravel driveway adds value, concrete it adds more. Live on a paved road adds value. Central heat and AC adds value, add a garage to protect your car adds value. Want a porch? That adds value. Even doing nothing adds value to your home and tax due to similar homes in the area being sold for more.

The depressing thing is what it costs just to run the assessors office to collect property taxes. The Monongalia county assessor's office, where my friend works, is staffed by 44 employees. Then there's the building, offices, computers, furniture, upkeep and maintenance, utilities, etc. This to collect just property tax for the county's 108,000 residents, the overhead must be crazy high. WV has 54 other counties all doing the same thing. I imagine every State is about as inefficient.

May 19, 2026, 08:15 PM

RogueJSK

That's wild. My county assessor's office has 38 employees for a county of ~350k people.

May 20, 2026, 08:57 AM

Leemur

It’s a tax on unrealized gains. They’re still trying to do the same with stocks. The machine won’t be happy until they have everything and graciously dole out a subsistence to you.

May 20, 2026, 12:49 PM

Gustofer

quote:
Originally posted by ridewv:
Value is all they care about,

Problem is, value only matters at the point of sale. As Leemur says, it is unrealized gains. If we must have property taxes at all, they should be capped at the sale price, subject to going down but never up.

May 20, 2026, 12:51 PM

ridewv

I wish they'd eliminate property tax on residences, hell even if they charged a 6% "sales tax" on every home purchase. At least that'd be once and done rather than every year.
The people who can afford to move around a lot contribute more while those who just want to stay in their homes don't have to pay any more.

quote:
Originally posted by RogueJSK:
That's wild. My county assessor's office has 38 employees for a county of ~350k people.

I'll be sure to pass this along, thanks.