Fading STAR

I made my final 2009 property tax payment today. This was the first half of the 2009-2010 school and library taxes and was due by September 30.

My total property taxes in 2009 were 29% higher than in 2008. This was primarily due to cuts in the state STAR school tax relief program. Part of the cut was obvious, the STAR rebate checks were eliminated in 2009. The other part was more subtle, my basic STAR full value exemption was cut from $106000 to $90000. My full value assessment also was cut but by a much smaller percentage. The net effect was to reduce my STAR savings (and hence raise my taxes) by a couple of hundred dollars. Despite considerable poking around on the STAR website I was unable to explain the cut. I suspect some arcane formula change intended to save the state money.