Homeowners along Mendenhall River may pay less in property taxes following annual flooding

Property tax bills are starting to arrive in Juneau residents’ mailboxes this week.

Last month, the Juneau Assembly passed a municipal budget that increased the property tax rate. Property tax bills for most Juneau residents are expected to go up – but not for everyone. 

The average residential property value rose by less than 1% this year. But many homes in  Mendenhall Valley near the river saw a decline in their assessed values after last August’s glacial outburst flood. 

City Finance Director Angie Flick said assessed homes near the Mendenhall River saw a roughly 20% drop in value. 

“We would anticipate that those homes in those areas would sell for a lesser value because of the risk of flooding, just because they experienced it last year,” she said.  

Property tax bills are calculated by multiplying the mill rate by a property’s value. The Assembly voted to increase the property tax rate, but it’s not enough to pay for city spending next year. That means the city will dip into savings to fill the gap.

Flick said bills can vary from property owner to property owner for a variety of reasons, like the location. 

“There’s always pockets of communities that have more drastic changes — it’s the beauty of the law of averages,” she said. “But in general, they should be pretty close to last year, probably slightly higher.”

Although the average property assessment went up only slightly this year, high housing costs continue to be a barrier to homeownership in Juneau.

According to a study by the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Juneau has had the highest average sale price for a single-family home in the state for the past two years. 

The deadline to petition an assessment passed earlier this spring. Property tax bills must be received or postmarked to the city on or before Sept. 30.