[Vision2020] Moscow residents could see 11 percent tax hike

[Tom Hansen]

No, Mr. Dredge.

People have a right to know what their city council is doing.

Stick 'round, though.  This is only the beginning.

FYI, Mr. Dredge . . . 

Tom Lamar and Art Bettge are NOT of the "same political stripe" as Walter Steed, Wayne Krauss, Dan Carscallen, and John Weber.  Thank God!

Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .

"Moscow Cares" (the most fun you can have with your pants on)
http://www.MoscowCares.com
  
Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"There's room at the top they are telling you still.
But first you must learn how to smile as you kill,
If you want to be like the folks on the hill."

- John Lennon
  

> On Aug 16, 2014, at 9:57 AM, Scott Dredge <scooterd408 at hotmail.com> wrote:
> 
> <DELETE>
> Jus' a suggestion, Mr. Hansen, if you should EVER disagree with the opinion and political stripe of those on the Moscow city council.  OK???
> 
> From: thansen at moscow.com
> Date: Sat, 16 Aug 2014 09:35:16 -0700
> To: vision2020 at moscow.com
> Subject: [Vision2020] Moscow residents could see 11 percent tax hike
> 
> Ah, yes.  Welcome to Moscow . . . home of stagnant wages and increased taxes, courtesy of Mayor Bill Lambert and council members Walter Steed, Wayne Krauss, Dan Carscallen, Art Bettge, Tom Lamar, and John Weber.
> 
> They certainly didn't have this much trouble increasing their cell-phone stipend, huh?
> 
> Courtesy of today's (August 16, 2014) Lewiston Tribune.
> 
> ------------------------------------
> 
> Moscow residents could see 11 percent tax hike
> 
> MOSCOW - Moscow residents could see an 11 percent hike in their property taxes next year if the city's proposed budget is approved Monday.
> 
> The latest version of the proposed $59.7 million 2015 budget includes collection of about $371,000 in foregone property taxes, plus an allowed annual 3 percent bump in the property tax levy. Moscow Finance Director Don Palmer said about $216,000 was added to the total foregone amount this month to cover the city's share in the cost to realign the Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport runway. The airport project could approach $90 million, but would be funded primarily with federal money.
> 
> Councilor Walter Steed said Friday that he is not a fan of increasing or taking foregone property taxes, but is unsure of any other way to fill the budget's gaps.
> 
> A public hearing on the budget is scheduled during the city council meeting at 7 p.m. Monday in Moscow City Hall. The council will consider approval of the proposed budget following the hearing.
> 
> Steed said he would really like to have Moscow residents attend the public hearing to provide the council with feedback on the proposed budget before it is approved.
> 
> Of the total proposed foregone amount - or property taxes from previous years when a 3 percent increase wasn't taken by the city - $216,705 would go to the runway realignment and $154,365 would be to replace federal funding for two police officer positions. The police positions have been funded for the past three years with a federal Community Oriented Policing Services grant.
> 
> State law allows municipalities to take up to a 3 percent increase in property taxes each year. This year's proposed 3 percent annual hike would generate about $139,000 and - when combined with the proposed hike of approximately 8 percent in foregone taxes - would be about a $55 annual increase in tax payments for owners of a $200,000 home.
> 
> Palmer said the proposed budget was adjusted earlier this month to represent the total foregone property tax increase of 8.25 percent. He said the proposed foregone amount would result in about $100,000 in unused taxes remaining that the city could go back and collect on at any time.
> 
> Steed said increasing the foregone taxes collected was the only option in funding the runway realignment that was presented to the council - something he said a lot of people feel is necessary. He also didn't know how else the city could continue to fund the two police officer positions without the foregone taxes.
> 
> "These are the options that were presented to us," Steed said. "I am unaware of any other options. I'm not particularly happy with the plan, but am unsure of how to achieve the goal other than with what has been presented."
> 
> The city's next budget year begins Oct. 1.
> 
> 
> ------------------------------------
> 
> Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .
> 
> "Moscow Cares"
> http://www.MoscowCares.com
>   
> Tom Hansen
> Moscow, Idaho
> 
> 
> ======================================================= List services made available by First Step Internet, serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994. http://www.fsr.net mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com =======================================================
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/vision2020/attachments/20140816/299c86bc/attachment-0001.html>