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Despite repeated cuts in the tax rate, many Pima County taxpayers are paying twice as much in property taxes as they did a decade ago.

Since 1998, the Board of Supervisors has dropped the tax rate 11 percent from $5.25 per $100 assessed value to $4.67, to offset rapidly rising property values. But even when adjusted for inflation, the average county tax bill has increased 50 percent since then.

County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry and the Democrats on the Board of Supervisors say the increases are needed to put more sheriff's deputies on the streets, expand library services and build voter-approved bond projects.

"Is that what we would like? Absolutely not," Supervisor Ramón Valadez said of the tax increases. "Nobody likes to pay taxes. But would I like a community that's safe? Absolutely. Would I like the infrastructure that we need? Absolutely."

The Republicans on the board, who have voted against many of the budgets and tax rates over that time period, say the numbers don't surprise them a bit.

"I've been saying this for years," Supervisor Ann Day said. "The assessed value is creating a revenue stream, and that's what's been driving our budget. We should have been returning more of it to the taxpayer. We're like someone who gets a raise and spends every penny."

To look at the long-term impact of rising home values on our taxes, the Arizona Daily Star used information from the Assessor's Office to determine an average home value in 1998 and 2008. We found the average home value for tax purposes had increased 126 percent, from $89,444 to $202,483. Applying the tax rates in each of those years showed the average county tax bill increased 101 percent.

Today's average homeowner pays $476 more in taxes to the county than 10 years ago. Even when adjusted for 34 percent inflation over the decade, that's still a 50 percent increase in constant dollars.

Huckelberry said the numbers don't surprise him, but he doesn't feel the Star's numbers account for population increases in the most appropriate way.

The county looks at the increase in the tax levy — the total amount of property taxes collected — on a per-capita basis, not per home.

"We don't provide services to households, we provide them to individuals," he said.

By that standard, the real increase in the county's property tax collections is 22 percent over the last decade.

Huckelberry said law enforcement has been the main driver of budget increases in that time period. The county has added 121 sheriff's deputies since 1998 and provided higher raises to help retain those deputies. And increased law enforcement adds to jail and court costs as well, he said.

The county also assumed full control of the public library system in 2005, which it used to share with the city. The county repeatedly raised the library tax to pay for expansions there.

Republican supervisor candidate Barney Brenner has made cutting taxes the centerpiece of his campaign to unseat three-term Democratic Supervisor Sharon Bronson.

His billboards ask voters if they want better roads and lower taxes. At a debate in Picture Rocks, he held up a graph he charted that shows a friend's taxes heading ever skyward.

"When my opponent talks about rate reduction, that is a sham," Brenner said.

Bronson, for her part, has tried to take back the tax issue. She touts her repeated votes to cut the tax rate and points to the county's tax-neutral levy over the last three years as evidence that the supervisors have provided relief to homeowners.

A tax-neutral levy is supposed to return the value of increased home values to taxpayers while allowing the county to take advantage of new properties added to the tax rolls. In the aggregate, it does, but many homeowners still find themselves paying more.

She also points to her vote to create a rainy-day fund so the county would have a reserve in tough economic times.

"The fact is the population has grown by 250,000, and justice and law enforcement make up 50 percent of our budget," Bronson said. "To get back to where we were in 1998, we'd have to cut everything else."

The increases in home values should level off for many homeowners as the slowdown in the housing market catches up with assessed values. Home values for tax purposes are determined by market conditions roughly 18 months before.

The values that will be used next year already have been sent to homeowners, and many — though not all — saw their valuations stay the same for the first time in years.