Property taxes then and now

Annual levies have outpaced inflation rate

This house on Vermont Street has seen property taxes rise dramatically during the past several years. County commissioners Thursday said they were considering a property tax increase of as much as 16.6 percent.

The value of a dollar has certainly changed in 100 years.

That’s why George Pisani was not surprised the property taxes on his house — 809 Conn. — were just $44 in 1909.

The amount of taxes the Graber family paid on the east Lawrence house in 1909 had increased to $135 in 1959. Last year, Pisani’s property taxes were nearly $1,900.

“I don’t think it’s bad. If it was lower, I’d say, ‘Yahoo,’ ” said Pisani, who works at the Kansas Biological Survey and also draws Social Security and some retirement benefits.

The Journal-World chose a handful of old Lawrence properties and pored over Douglas County records to compare property taxes today with 100 and 50 years ago.

Using the consumer price index to adjust for inflation, the 1909 and 1959 amounts on the houses were all less than the 2009 tax bill. For example, property taxes on Pisani’s home in both 1909 and 1959 translate roughly to $1,000 in today’s dollars.

Experts say it has to do with the role of local governments and how much money people made 100 and 50 years ago.

There are also several ways to look at the numbers, said Joshua Rosenbloom, a Kansas University economist.

Using a consumer price index calculator, $1 in 1909 would be valued at $24 today, and $1 in 1959 is valued at $7.38 in 2010. But Rosenbloom said there are other economic measures that show the value of a dollar has increased more.

Some financial comparisons from the past century

Income

1909 — $520

1959 — $5,251

2009 — $47,614

The average annual wages for a Lawrence worker in 1912-1913, according to the “Lawrence Social Survey.”

U.S. Census Bureau estimates for Douglas County median household income

Thanksgiving dinner for 10

1909 — $4.25 (The New York Times)

1959 — $8.36 (MSNBC)

2009 — $42.91 (American Farm Bureau Federation)

Average price of gold per oz.

1909 — $20.68

1959 — $35.10

2009 — $972.32

Value of $1: One dollar in 1909 equals $24 today. One dollar in 1959 equals $7.38 today.

(according to the Consumer Price Index)

“What that doesn’t take into account is that earning power has gone up. People have become more productive,” he said.

He figures that an unskilled or moderately skilled worker in 1909 made about $2 a day.

“The burden of the taxes in 1909 is going to look bigger, obviously,” Rosenbloom said.

In 1909, taxes on the smaller homes in east Lawrence ranged from $24 to $80. Taxes were more than $100 for two larger homes in Old West Lawrence, 801 La. and 623 Ind., and a two-story house at 1605 Vt.

Former City Manager Mike Wildgen said if taxes 100 and 50 years ago were lower, when adjusted for inflation, it likely has to do with the role of local governments.

“They didn’t have as many services back then. It was mostly public works projects. They were building streets,” said Wildgen, who lives at 801 La. — home to legendary KU basketball coach Phog Allen from 1919 to 1947.

But Rosenbloom said that in 1909 local governments did provide most services and paid for them with local tax dollars. Federal aid was not available; the 16th Amendment allowing Congress to levy a federal income tax, for instance, did not pass until 1913.

August Dettbarn, a Douglas County appraisal manager, said different parts of town had different tax rates because the state didn’t have unified school districts in 1909.

Pisani, of 809 Conn., said the numbers just indicate how things have changed.

“If I think back to when I was in my teens in the ’50s and ’60s in New York, hell, you could buy a Cadillac for $6,000 new,” Pisani said. “Right now, $6,000 gets you the hood ornament, maybe.”