Truth In Taxation Meeting Update
by brian mcNary
Many of us attended the Truth in Taxation meeting held on Tuesday, Aug. 11. The meeting room was packed and every seat was taken. I’d like to summarize the commenting here.
A little less than 20 people spoke about the tax hike. I have it about 50-50. Half of the people who spoke do not want a tax hike. The other half were very respectful to the council, some offered suggestions including finding grants, and others thought there should be some cost cutting.
I am left with 4 potential outcomes:
The council can vote for this tax increase. This will not stop them from doing this again. I am not a big fan of the timing. What impact fees and property taxes are we expecting from Firelight and Indigo? Those developments should be contributing soon. Wouldn’t it be wise to just wait a year or two?
I had no idea until the meeting that the City of Toquerville spends 77,000 on community events attended for free by residents here and in neighboring communities. This raised concerns for me about public bidding processes and who is receiving money. I then realized none of us has even seen a budget. I have no clue how much they receive and spend. Shouldn’t we know that before we decide to just give them a blank check? I remember attending a meeting this year about employee raises, a 3% cola and a 4% discretionary raise and I do not know the outcome. How many employees does Toquerville have? Are we funding raises with this tax hike? Maybe we should ask the city to make appropriate cuts now in those two items which will cover the 98,000 dollars they hope to collect with the 30% tax hike.
The council reduces the amount they are asking for or decides not to act. I don’t see this as a realistic possibility, more of an outside shot.
We petition for a referendum where voters are asked to vote for or against a property tax hike. We will need around 225 registered or eligible to register voters. We will need 5 sponsors. If successful, we will vote on it this fall. It can only be initiated after the council acts on the issue.
Summary
So there it is. Do nothing and let the issue proceed as is, postpone the hike for a year or two, look at budgets and cut existing spending, or place the issue on a ballot and let voters decide.
In Washington County currently, Toquerville has the second highest property tax rate of all 15 cities. Only Rockville is higher and only then because they have a zero growth policy with very limited income streams.
I was encouraged to see people show up for this meeting. Some offered ideas and suggestions like grant writing or cost cutting. Some folks just offered encouragement to the council. The council is slated to discuss and vote on this during the upcoming meeting on August 19.