My county in Nebraska passed a referendum to cap property taxes at 2.5% of the assessed real estate value. That next year everyone's valuations jumped up, and aren't far off from actual sale values. The county decides what their budget will be and then plays with housing assessments. Interesting thing is that my property taxes have been _decreasing_ year over year, as more wealth is added to the county through new construction.
OK so here's the stats. 2,400 ft^2 home; 15,000 ft^2 lot; $4.3K/y property tax. Property valuation by county assessor ~ $220K.
Our property taxes fund the local schools, sheriff, fire & rescue, and if I lived inside the city limits, the local police department.