PROVO — Utah County property tax rates will be lower this year — but that doesn't mean residents will be paying less money when Nov. 30 rolls around.

Property values in Utah County have increased so much over the past year — by an average of 19.7 percent — that the county's tax rate has decreased in an effort to offset the bump in money that would otherwise be collected.

"The tax rate continues to drop, because as the (home) values go up, it takes a lower rate to develop the same amount of money," said Cary McConnell in Utah County's Clerk/Auditor's Office. "If the home's (value) goes up and the (tax) rate goes down, people will be paying about the same amount of money."

Each year, tax rates fluctuate, and some property owners end up paying more or less than the previous year, McConnell said. In 2006, Highland's property values surpassed most of the neighboring cities — a phenomenon that did not recur this year.

Because the city was an anomaly, some residents of Highland found themselves paying much higher taxes than they did in 2005. This year, because property values in the entire county grew together, residents of Highland might find a decrease in their taxes.

"The problem with Highland last year was Highland was just kind of the only one that took off that way," McConnell said. "Alpine already had fairly high values, so because Lehi and American Fork and Pleasant Grove were lagging behind Highland, they (Highland property owners) received a significant increase in value and a significant increase in taxes. This year, we're seeing the values increase more proportionately throughout the area."

Residents in the county should receive their tax notices sometime next week.

Residents of Alpine, Cedar Fort, Cedar Hills, Eagle Mountain, Highland and Woodland Hills will also receive a notice that their cities are planning to have "truth-in-taxation" hearings this August because those cities are considering increasing their tax rate.

"I think people in the cities that are asking for an increase will be the ones that the (tax notices) will catch their attention," said Utah County Clerk/Auditor Bryan Thompson. "Residents need to talk to their cities and understand why (the cities) are asking for the increase."

All three Utah County school districts are also planning on asking for an increase — an unusual occurrence for the county, Thompson said.

The abnormality is almost as strange as the effect the total increase in property values has had on the county, McConnell said.

"It's unusual to have this much appreciation in one year," McConnell said. "We're in one of the hottest real estate markets in the country. We're seeing increases on average of over 20 percent. It doesn't happen very often."

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