Fairness and Tax Impacts

We've received almost 300 feedback forms and many phone calls to date. Thanks for all the points of view on this very difficult topic. One specific phone conversation confirmed what we are hearing from the community but also a point that needs clarification.

First, for those that have previously been assessed. We understand this change is difficult and unfair. You've paid or are still paying for an assessment. The current policy that assesses 100% of the costs was adopted by council in the early 2000's. The policy worked for most of those years. The current policy is not legally and financially sustainable. A change is needed. We all wish we could go back and implement a different policy that would work for the 40+ years it requires to reconstruct our streets.

Second, the estimated financial impacts of the options being presented may not have been clear. In the first year of either option, taxes on the median valued home would increase city taxes for funding street reconstruction by approximately $40. In the remaining 15-years of the transition to either 50% city taxes or 100% city taxes, city taxes on the median family home would increase by $4 or $9 per year for funding street reconstruction. The current estimates based on a 16-yr transition would increase city taxes for funding street reconstruction on the median family home by either $100 or $175 respectively. Note that higher valued homes would pay more in city taxes and lesser valued homes would pay less.

Thanks, Chad Millner, City Engineer