Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
The City Council last week agreed to place renewals of its library and police operating levies on the Nov. 7 ballot.
The levies were approved by a majority of voters in May, the library 62.5 percent to 37.5 percent, and the police 57.4 percent to 42.6 percent; but the levies failed because a majority of voters did not turn out.
In May, 49.2 percent of voters voted. At least 50 percent were required to vote before the levies could be renewed. The November election does not require a 50-percent voter turnout.
The November levy request is identical to the May ballot, City Manager Craig Martin said. “Both the Admin and Finance Committee and the City Council felt there was support for the measures.”
The measures received a popular majority but fell 30 votes shy of meeting the turnout requirement, Martin said. With the popular support, “it warranted asking voters to consider the same thing.”
In the past, the levies have been for a fixed dollar amount, growing by 3 percent per year. In this election, the levies will be rate-based over the next four years.
The proposed tax rate for the library levy will be 62 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation. That is expected to raise an estimated $673,000 over four years.
The police levy will be $6.40 per $1,000 of assessed valuation and is expected to raise $6.95 million over a four-year period.
Both levies match the rates of the first year of the current levies, Martin said. The rate-based approach will allow the city to tax new development, expanding services with the new growth. Under the fixed-dollar levies, rates go down with the growth of property values and new construction.
“That’s, in essence, the amount of money it will take to operate the services,” Martin said.
Martin emphasized that the levies are renewals, replacing the existing levies when they expire on June 30, 2007. The levies would pay for service matching the current level, beginning on July 1, 2007.
The main difference is that the levy will maintain the same rate throughout its life, capturing revenue from new construction and property value increases, Martin said.