Dorchester Times: Comparing Dorchester Property Taxes To Our Big City Neighbors

Friday, August 28, 2015

Comparing Dorchester Property Taxes To Our Big City Neighbors

The Dorchester Times strives to look at our community in a objective manner. While there are things we'd like to improve expeditiously -- our streets, our business district, the condition of some homes -- we also know there are big advantages to life in the village right now.

Today, we examine property taxes.

The owner of a $150,000 house in Lincoln -- near the city average -- will pay about $2,915 this year for property taxes. Over 10 years, that is nearly $30,000; over 20 years, it's more than $58,000.

And with the news the the Lincoln Public School board has raised its budget by nearly 7%, Lincoln dwellers will pay even more next year, considering about 60% of a Nebraskan's property tax bill goes to his/her school district.

Meanwhile, the owner of a $150,000 house in Omaha will pay around $3,300 -- or $33,000 over a decade, or $66,000 over a 20-year span.

Now consider the estimated average house value in Dorchester is around $81,700. That means, based on current tax levies, the average Dorchester homeowner is paying around $1,275 a year in property taxes -- or $12,750 over a decade, or $25,500 over a 20-year span.

At these numbers, the average homeowner in Dorchester will save about $17,000 over 10 years and about $32,500 over 20 years compared to their Lincoln counterparts. Those savings are $20,250 and $40,450 when the comparison is with the average Omaha owner.

Keep in mind this does not take into consideration other expenses, such as mortgage interest (since the average homes are more expensive in Lincoln and Omaha) or other taxes, such as city wheel tax.

For those out-of-state readers who may be saying, "Property taxes in Nebraska are high no matter where you live!" -- we say, "You're right." But consider that the average home price in many other states is between $300,000 and $400,000 -- which means most people are borrowing much bigger sums of money.

Also keep this in mind: Your $100 in Nebraska is actually worth about $110-$115 due to the average cost of living in the U.S.

4 comments:

BFKAugust 28, 2015 at 3:29 PM
That puts things in perspective.
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AnonymousAugust 29, 2015 at 12:12 PM
Good comparisons. The only thing I'd add is the "lost opportunity" cost. Think about if you invested that savings of $20,000 or $40,000 over a twenty year period. Then you'd be looking at an extra $60,000 or $80,000
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AnonymousSeptember 2, 2015 at 11:00 AM
That's comparing apples to apples, 150000.00 house compared to a 81000.00 house, what are the taxes on 1500000.00 house in Dorchester? Considering I just pulled out my Real Estate statement and my house says it"s worth 88010.00 and the tax is 1727.12 ,,,,just wondering
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Dorchester: A Good Little Family Town

Dorchester, Nebraska (est. population 630) is located in northern Saline county. Close in proximity to Interstate 80, Dorchester is only 25 minutes from the state capital of Lincoln (est. population 250,000) and about 55 minutes from Omaha (metro population 725,000).

Dorchester's median resident age is 37 years. In 2005, Dorchester had a median family income of approximately $35,600. The median house value was about $63,000. About 95 percent of Dorchester residents commute to work via Interstate and highways.

The village has a quality public school, which received a $4.1 million expansion and modernization in 2008; it offers a small classrooms and individualized attention. Total enrollment of grades K-12 is around 230-250 students.

Ancestries of the Dorchester area are primarily German (42.4%), Czech (24.9%), Irish (12.5%), English (5.4%), and Dutch (4.9%).

Dorchester Historical Facts

* On July 4, 1871, the railroad reached Dorchester.
* Incorporated in 1881, Dorchester's population grew from 200 to 500 by 1882.
* In 1882, Dorchester had 90 buildings, 35 of which were businesses or public facilities. Brick buildings lined both sides of Washington Avenue for two blocks.
* Dorchester's longest-running newspaper was The Dorchester Star, which was published until the late 1940s.
* By 1889, Dorchester's population is said to have reached 800, while the town housed an opera house, a two-story brick schoolhouse with a bell tower, and four churches.
* By the 1910s, Dorchester had electricity, a water tower and a fire department.
* Dorchester's main arteries, Highways 6 and 33, were graveled in the 1940s.
* Dorchester's first irrigation well was drilled on Chris Weber's farm and rural electrification was finished following WWII.

A Village with History

Dorchester is one of the "alphabet towns" on the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad line built west from Lincoln. The town site was selected for its pleasant location in the northern part of Saline County, about eight miles west of Crete. This situation is an attractive one, being on the level prairie land, midway between the West Blue River and Turkey Creek. The first named stream is three miles north, and the latter about the same distance south from the town. Dorchester was platted in 1870 and incorporated in 1881. The name "Dorchester" came from either for a suburb of Boston by that name or a town in England. No one is sure. Two of the very first settlers were James Seely and Edward McIntyre, who both made Dorchester their permanent home.

Dorchester: In The Beginning

Here is a look at Dorchester around 1890, less than a decade after its official incorporation, as documented by Andreas' History of the State of Nebraska:
* POPULATION: "About 300, and is made up of a substantial and progressive class of citizens, who are moral and industrious. ... The town grew but very little until the year 1879, for the reason that Pleasant Hill, on Turkey Creek, a short distance south, was the county seat and naturally drew a trade for quite a large scope of country."
* BUSINESS: "The business and professional interests of the town are represented by three general merchandise stores, two drug, one grocery, one furniture, two hardware, and two millinery stores, one bank, two restaurants, two hotels, three livery stables, a post office, one newspaper office, two elevators, two lumber yards, two coal yards, two blacksmith shops, two lawyers and four physicians."
* SCHOOL: "The schoolhouse is a good one. The schoolhouse was built in 1872, since which time the public schools have been continually kept up. The present schoolhouse is 24' x 40' in size, two stories high. The school is graded and consists of three departments. The house is found too small, and arrangements will soon be made to increase its size."
* CHURCHES: "There are three substantial churches."
* HOMES: "The residence portion of the village is made up of neat houses of different styles of architecture, but none of them very large."
* NEWSPAPER: "The Dorchester Star, which was established August 21, 1881, by H. C. Bittenbender, who edited it until January 19, 1882, when he sold it to Ryerson & Bullock, the present proprietors. The Star is a bright weekly paper, five-column quarto, in size, and is Republican in politics."