By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Richmond residents should expect the city to send them bigger tax bills on vehicles and property this year — despite Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s claim that his proposed budget does not include a tax increase.

A closer look at the budget plan shows that the mayor did not propose a hike in the tax rates the city charges on real estate or on cars, trucks and other personal property.

However, he did not mention his plan would require vehicle and property owners to pay more money into the city’s coffers, in part because of a rise in the taxable value of real estate.

And given the pleas that Richmond City Council is hearing from various city agencies seeking more money than the mayor proposed, there is little prospect for any rollback on the increase in the city’s tax charges.

When it comes to real estate, the value of property rose an average of 3.3 percent from 2016 to 2017, according to interim City Assessor Melvin Bloomfield.

So the owner of a house valued at $100,000 last year would be billed nearly $40 more if the house increased in value by that average of 3.3 percent.

Based on the tax rate, the bill last year would have been $1,200. This year, based on the home’s increase in value, the bill would be $1,239.60, even with the tax rate staying unchanged at $1.20 per $100 of assessed value.

Bills will vary because some sections of the city had far bigger jumps in value, while some saw no increase and a few areas declined in value, according to data from the city Assessor’s Office.

On the vehicle front, owners also could end up paying a bit more.

While the so-called car tax is partially offset by a state payment to every locality, the state payment is not stretching as far.

Last year year, the state payment, about $16.7 million, covered 56 percent of city tax bills on vehicles.

This year, Richmond is to get the same amount from the state, but that payment will cover only 53 percent of the bill, according to city Finance Director John Wack.

That means car owners must pay a bigger share of the bill, although the impact will be softened a bit as vehicles depreciate or lose value each year as they age. The impact will be largest on people who bought new vehicles last year.

The proposal to raise the owners’ share of the personal property tax bill from 54 percent to 57 percent is expected to clear City Council next week after winning unanimous support from the council’s Finance and Economic Development Committee.

The city’s tax rate on the majority of vehicles is $3.70 per $100 of assessed value. However, it is $2.30 per $100 for trucks that weigh more than 10,000 pounds.