SUN CITY- When Steve Bytnar first moved to Sun City in 2006, he got down to brass “tax.”
The current resident, who has been involved with the Property Tax Action Group (PTAG) in Sun City, quickly surged into service, helping his near and far neighbors in Del Webb who were interested in appealing their assessments.
Sun City resident Steve Bytnar shares his property tax assessment secrets with residents and helps them reduce their annual taxes. (Photo by Chris LaPelusa/Sun Day)
Bytnar explains that the PTAG’s motives are to “keep the property taxes down” and to “seek equity and fairness in assessments.” Bytnar, however, has gone above and beyond these precepts.
“When I first moved here, it seemed almost impossible to appeal because you just don’t know where to start. Then I found this group that had done some work with it, and I got involved. Through these years, I think I’ve learned a lot,” he said.
In addition to Bytnar’s membership, he personally manages an online database of the assessments for all Sun City homes, which he sorts by model.
“In order to file a complaint for your assessment, you need to compare it against like properties,” said Bytnar. “It is actually easy to appeal your assessment provided you’ve got some guidance and information.”
Bytnar shares this revelation with his fellow residents on the Sun City website, which provides information about PTAG (including contact information for Bytnar) in the special interest groups category. Anyone seeking help with his or her assessment appeal need only give Bytnar a call.
All of this work is something that Bytnar does voluntarily. Although he jokes that insanity plays a part in his participation, his motives are thoroughly pure.
“We’re all in this together, and you have to give back,” he said.
Although Bytnar has found his way of serving the community, he is always fine-tuning. His latest goals for the PTAG focus on expansion and further technological improvements.
“I would like to broaden the scope, and I’ve already automated the process a lot more. I’m engaging a lot more people to make phone calls and contact people,” he said.
At the end of the day, however, Bytnar is more driven by service than other measures of success.
“You’ve got to give back in whatever way you can in this world,” he said. “There’s a lot of people in Sun City who do that, and that’s what makes it a great place to live.”
