Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
The city of Sweet Home sent out information on its proposed police and library levies in the last billing cycle, but that mailing appears to have created the impression for some residents that the city is seeking a new tax, officials say.
City Manager Craig Martin said he and Finance Director Pat Gray have fielded about a dozen calls asking about the levies.
Police Department employees have reported hearing the same thing around the community.
“It’s not a new tax,” Martin said, emphasizing that the police and library levies would replace, or renew, the existing levies. The new levies will replace the city’s current operating levies, which expire on June 30, 2007. The new levies would not take effect until July 1, 2007.
“The biggest question we’re hearing: ‘Is this going to add on to what we’re currently paying?'” Martin said. “The simple answer is ‘no.'”
Whether taxpayers will pay more or less varies property to property and depends on what property values do, Martin said. The tax rate will be set the same as it was at the beginning of the existing levy. It is designed to be close to what the current rate is, but because of the uncertainty of specific property values, Martin said he cannot guarantee that the final tax would be identical.
Throughout the city, many will see no increase, but they can certainly go up a little in some instances, he said.
The reason for the rate-based approach is to capture revenue from growth to pay for rising demand for service, Martin said. As more houses are built, more funds will be available to hire police officers or expand library services.
The existing tax levies are based on a specific amount of money each year, so the effective rate decreases slightly each year as property values rise.
The new levy will raise approximately $1.63 million in 2007, $1.7 million in 2008, $1.77 million in 2009 and $1.85 million in 2010. The tax rate will be $6.40 per $1,000 of assessed value. The tax on a $100,000 property would be $640 per year. On a $66,000 home, it would be $422.40 per year.
The levies will appear on the May 16 ballot. If they are not passed, the city could ask that they be placed on later ballots. The May election requires a 50-percent voter turnout.