City Official Reports and Comments
A. Mayor Tom McMasters will begin the City Official Reports and Comments by addressing the City budget and tax levy issues. Examination of the City’s 2014 budget caused the Finance Director to recommend starting a discussion on how best to raise revenues. One option for raising revenues is a tax levy. Which election, if any, City Council will choose for a tax levy has not been determined. However, the May 6, 2014 election is a possibility prompting Mayor McMasters to present the considerations that need to be addressed in order to decide the details of a ballot measure. These include:
1. Is a tax levy necessary?
2. If a tax levy is necessary, at which election should a tax levy appear?
3. If a tax levy is necessary, which is better ? an income tax or property tax?
4. If a tax levy is necessary, how much revenue will the City seek?
5. If a tax levy is necessary, what is the duration of the levy?
After the introduction by Mayor McMasters, City Staff and citizens will be invited to provide their input and thoughts. The standard procedure which asks residents to sign up in advance to speak on agenda items is encouraged. However, an open invitation to speak will also be given. Please plan to observe the five minute guideline for each speaker.
B. City Official Reports and Comments ? All Councilmembers.
Because of a bit of a coordination problem caused because I'm new at this process, the agenda page Item 12 doesn't have a link to the read ahead. So I need your help letting people know I plan on talking about the possibility of a tax levy. The discussion will be toward the end of the council meeting Monday night.
More than just attend and listen I also hope you will help me create the briefing. This past week, 7 am Thursday morning, I scheduled a meeting to talk with members of the Chamber of Commerce. When the City Manager found out about it he arranged to have seven staff members attend in order to make sure all the details were correct. I expect staff input Monday night. There was concern that if it the announcement indicated staff involvement and it didn't also say there was council involvement it may look like one elected official was directing the work of City Staff outside the consensus of the entire council. Therefore, I ask for your assistance in creating a eight to ten minute brief designed to prompt discussion on those items that can help compose the ballot details if we think a May levy is appropriate.
I'll be posting drafts of the presentation starting Sunday Morning. If you have suggestions / details/ train of thought before then post them as comments below. To start though I'll be thinking how to approach these:
1. Is a tax levy necessary?
2. If a tax levy is necessary, at which election should a tax levy appear?
3. If a tax levy is necessary, which is better ? an income tax or property tax?
4. If a tax levy is necessary, how much revenue will the City seek?
5. If a tax levy is necessary, what is the duration of the levy?
Edited
Comments
Tax Levy's
Into the home stretch - your input and comments appreciated
http://huberresidents.org/uploads/filedump/Council_related/Tax_levy_2014/City%20Budget%20and%20Tax%20Levy%20Jan%202014_draft3.ppt
Your help in drafting Presentation still desired
Here is a second draft. I didn't get much help so there is still information missing, typos and bad grammar. Looking for your help to improve all these issues. Heading to bed. Hope to see your comments and suggestions in the comment section when I return.
Break Break --- There is a third draft below this posting. Download this draft for historical purposes only
http://huberresidents.org/uploads/filedump/Council_related/Tax_levy_2014/City%20Budget%20and%20Tax%20Levy%20Jan%202014_draft2.ppt
Making this forum effective
One of the Colonels I respected the most when I was active duty made some decisions that I whole heartedly disagreed with. He kept my respect by acknowledging my arguments and showing that he considered them even though the organization had chosen to take a different path.
Looking at your response "No, why do we need one?" to the question "is a tax levy necessary" is the kind of response I would have expected before the PP presentation was made available. This is because the PP presentation tried to explain that for 2014 the budget tells us we will spend $2.1 million more out of the General Fund than what we take in as revenue. The presentation relays that we've been told we've spent more from the general fund than we've been taking in since 2009. The presentation also points out that when we look at some of the documentation and other information it looks like in 2013 the General Fund actually grew by $1.7 million dollars. Then the presentation goes on to explain that at least some of the increase we saw in 2013 was because the city made changes in the way they charge salary, water, and projects. In 2013 more of the costs of these were charged to in other funds instead of the General Fund.
Since the Citizen response came well after the PP presentation was posted, the statement "No we don't need one" makes me wonder if the person who made it; read the argument in the presentation and rejected it, read the argument and didn't understand it because of my poor writing ability, or didn't read the argument at all. Hopefully, you can see that I'm perplexed at how next to respond except to say it would be pretty time consuming to compose a further responses that address all three possibilities.
To me if a person read the argument and understood it one logical progression of the discussion might include questions like these:
1. If there wasn't a need for a tax levy last year and if the balance of the General Fund will be about the same at the end of 2014 as it was planned to be at the end of 2013, can a levy wait? (note: before I could ask the question this way someone would have to find the 2013 budget to see the ending balance of the General fund. Then I would add the $1,457,913.52 to the ending balance of the 2014 General Fund balance to make sure the two ending balances were about the same)
2. How systemic is the problem? Was all the difference in the General Fund revenue due to the change in charges or could some of it been because the economy is turning around? If the economy is turning around do we need a levy?
Those are questions I might ask. It is actually your questions that I might not think of that make me ask for your help.
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If it turns out I've written the presentation poorly in this first draft, a person that reads it and then asks, "what are you trying to say here?" will help me as I prepare. Even better if you read it and understand it but think the phrasing could be better, then your suggestion of a re-write helps my next draft.
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I wouldn't know how to respond to a person that had be given an answer but didn't show an interest in contemplating or disproving the answer but instead continued to press for the same information.
input
let me start by answering your questions (our opinions of course)
1. Is a tax levy necessary? No, why do we need one?
2. If a tax levy is necessary, at which election should a tax levy appear? November's, more time to educate the public on why one is needed
3. If a tax levy is necessary, which is better ? an income tax or property tax? INCOME TAX, property tax is high enough and doesn't address "HH Rental Community" adquately enough, most renters use the city services, yet do not pay for them through property tax
4. If a tax levy is necessary, how much revenue will the City seek? ??? I'd like to know the formula, why one is even needed! Lets cut back on luxuries first!
5. If a tax levy is necessary, what is the duration of the levy? again, not up on how much is needed, why its needed therefore not sure how long one is needed
Your help in drafting Presentation Wanted
Break Break - there is a second and third draft below. No need to download this version unless for historical reasons.
http://huberresidents.org/uploads/filedump/Council_related/Tax_levy_2014/City%20Budget%20and%20Tax%20Levy%20Jan%202014_draft1.ppt