Decide whether you are willing to do without certain services to keep taxes low. Work for efficiency in government. Primary taxes help pay for general governmental services such as police and fire protection, the court system, public health services and the public education system. Primary taxes are, by law, limited to the amount which they can be increased from one year to the next. Elementary and high school districts primary levies are also limited, but a different formula that adjusts for student population is used.
Secondary taxes are for voters approved items.
The most commonly approved secondary taxes are for school construction bonds, improvement districts and primary tax overrides. Secondary taxes are not limited. The assessor's office studies the market and collects information about properties to estimate value. A property's value can change for many reasons. The most obvious is that the property itself changes.