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Taxes and Fees
The Depew Village Board levies the highest tax rate and collects the most property tax dollars of any village in Western New York.
There are four villages of comparable size in Western New York, Depew, Hamburg, Kenmore, and Lancaster. Depew is the poorest village among this group of similar villages.
Depew has the lowest per-capita income among similar villages. According to the latest available census statistics, Depew’s per-capita income was $19,914. This amount is $3,457 less than the per-capita income of Hamburg.
The per-capita income for the four villages:
o Depew $19,914
o Kenmore $20,308
o Lancaster $21,695
o Hamburg $23,371
Depew had the lowest percentage of people in the labor force at 63.9 percent.
The percent of people in the labor force for the four villages:
o Depew – 63.9 %
o Lancaster – 66.5 %
o Kenmore – 67.4 %
o Hamburg – 68 %
Families living in poverty comprise 3.6 percent of Depew’s population. Individuals living in poverty made up 5.4 percent of its populace.
In the four villages:
o Depew – 3.6 percent of families and 5.4 percent of individuals live below poverty
o Kenmore 3.5 percent of families and 5.2 percent of individuals live below poverty
o Lancaster, 3.1 percent of families and 5.1 percent of individuals live below poverty
o Hamburg, 2.8 percent of families and 3 percent of individuals live below poverty.
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With the lowest median income and the highest property taxes, how can people afford to own a home and pay taxes?
That’s a good question. Homes in Depew are not the least expensive among the four villages surveyed, nor are they the lowest in Western New York. The lowest priced house in Depew’s market today is listed at $64,900. The highest priced home is $349,900. In Kenmore, the lowest priced house is $55,000 and the highest priced is $150,000.
Where does Depew’s poor get the money to pay taxes?
It’s possible the poor pay property taxes indirectly, or they don’t pay them at all.
Over 27 percent of Depew residences are renter-occupied units. Renters pay property tax indirectly. The owners add taxes to other expenses when they determine the amount of rent to charge.
With over 36 percent of the population out of the workforce, it’s likely that some of these people are renters and receive social benefits. Portions of these benefits are used to pay rents and a portion of that rent goes towards property taxes. The benefits these people receive are funded by Federal, State, and County taxpayers. In effect, other taxpayers supply the money to pay these people’s property taxes.
Do high taxes motivate people with money to move? It’s possible. The census bureau estimates that 1,875 people left Depew between 1990 and 2005. That’s a population decline of over 10 percent and the largest decline in comparable villages.
Didn’t high taxes drive people out of Buffalo, leaving the poor and dependant behind?
Is it possible that Depew will become what Buffalo is today – a blighted community?
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Sources
The United States Census Bureau
HomeFinderExtra.com, March 13, 2007.
© Copyright 2008 by Speakupwny.com
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