“Property tax hike proposed to fund city libraries - Thu, 03 Feb 2011 PST” plus 1 more |
| Property tax hike proposed to fund city libraries - Thu, 03 Feb 2011 PST Posted: 03 Feb 2011 07:28 PM PST February 3, 2011 in News, City Dan Pelle photo Rebecca Pippenger reads an East Side Library book titled "10 Little Rubber Ducks" by Eric Carle, to 3-year-old students at the Southeast Day Care Center on Thursday. Children from the day care visit the library, which is just steps away, once a week. The city of Spokane is considering closing the branch. "We will have some very sad kids," Pippenger said. Listening to the story are, from left, Azaryiah Hernandez, Adrian Brian, Kristina Gonzales, Tyree Lay (pointing), Ethan Koplan (in red) and Oscar Overholser (front). Hoping to head off a new round of library closure talks or further cuts to branch hours, the Spokane Public Library is asking city leaders to sponsor a property tax boost on the April 26 ballot. The Spokane City Council will decide Feb. 14 if it will ask voters for an extra 15 cents for each $1,000 of taxable property value. If successful, the tax would generate an extra $2.3 million a year. Besides allowing the system to keep all its locations open, the tax would allow all six of the city's branches to resume full-time hours for the first time in more than a decade. Three branches currently are open only 22 ½ hours a week. Under the proposal, the owner of a $100,000 property would pay an additional $15 a year. "It gives us an opportunity to once again provide a level of service that we'd like to provide and that citizens want us to provide," said library Director Pat Partovi. Last year, library administrators proposed closing the East Side Library – probably the most controversial suggestion that emerged as the city struggled to balance its budget. Library trustees later approved a budget that kept the branch open after library workers accepted a less-than-expected 1 percent pay raise. Even so, library trustees warned that they were balancing the 2011 budget with reserves that will be depleted by the end of the year – creating even greater likelihood of branch closure talks later this year. The tax proposal appears to have an uphill climb. Spokane Mayor Mary Verner has not backed the effort. "I definitely recognize the need in libraries. I'm just struggling to prioritize expanding library services at a time when we are cutting back in public safety," Verner said. City Council President Joe Shogan said the proposal could stop the city from considering broader tax boosts that could also benefit police, fire and other city departments. "The council has got to look at the overall financial health of the city," Shogan said. But City Councilman Richard Rush said the electorate doesn't appear to be in the mood for tax increases for a wide array of services. With the outcry the City Council heard last year about the possible closure of the branch, voters should decide if they want libraries funded to a level of full service. "My sense is the voters are willing to give additional tax money to the city for very focused, limited purposes," said Rush, who is sponsoring the proposal to place the tax on the ballot. "I'm just responding to the community who said that they wanted the system preserved and accessible." Rush is the City Council liaison to the Spokane Library Board of Trustees, which voted unanimously last month to recommend the tax boost – called a levy lid lift – to the City Council. "People say they care, and if they care, they need to make sure the money is there," said Library Trustee Janice Marich. Library supporters have long argued that the city library system is an afterthought of city government – often losing out to arguments from elected leaders that "public safety" is far-and-away the top funding priority. The Spokane Public Library's budget is about $8.5 million. If a property tax increase is approved, officials say the intent would be for the City Council to continue providing about the same amount plus the new tax. City Councilwoman Nancy McLaughlin said she's sympathetic to the call for a library tax boost but worries that if voters approved the tax the council would feel obligated not to cut libraries as the city braces for another budget shortfall in 2012. That would mean deeper cuts in the rest of city government, she said. She said depending how the budget shakes out, she would be more open to a property tax that considers the entire budget. "I want to make sure that we're really honest with what we try to sell the citizens. We have to take a more holistic look at what is going on in the Spokane city budget." But Louise Chadez, who helped rally support last year to keep the East Side branch open, said that given the current anti-tax mood, adding more items to the tax could endanger its passage. "I would hope that people would find that this isn't very much and it would go a long way to preserving our libraries," Chadez said. Ballots for the April 26 election will be mailed on April 8. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| State approves 2011 county budget order; property tax bills to follow Posted: 04 Feb 2011 12:56 PM PST By JEFF SCHULTZ It's been a long time since Porter County has seen consecutive years where property tax bills have gone out on time, but it looks like it is finally going to happen in 2011. The Indiana Department of Local Government on Thursday certified Porter County's 2011 budget order and tax rates, almost two weeks ahead of the statutory deadline, Feb. 15. Porter is the 71st county in the state to receive its certification, but the DLGF says it is well-poised for on-time tax bills for the second year in a row. "The certification of the budget order and tax rates sets the stage nicely for on-time tax bills for the second consecutive year, returning predictability to the property tax system," said DLGF Commissioner Brian Bailey. "A tremendous amount of cooperation between local and state officials is required to ensure property tax bills go out on time, and is rewarding to see all the efforts pay off." The DLGF stepped in to put forth the effort last year to get all 92 counties on-track thorough a "year of no excuses" campaign. Only two counties, Owen and Kosciusko, had met the deadline in 2009 while 85 had reached it in 2010. The state hopes to see 91 counties make the mark this year, a feat not accomplished since 2000. The recent delays and snafus have been attributed to the state's change to a market value-based property tax system and counties including Porter making upgrades to their software. The budget order says the Porter County Assessor delivered the ratio study to the DLGF on June 8 ahead of the July 1 deadline, but was not approved until Aug. 4. The county auditor then certified the net assessed values to the DLGF on Sept. 7. With the budget order now issued, the remainder of the work is to be handled at the county level. Using the tax rates issued for each taxing unit, the auditor is to calculate the tax bills and hand them over to the county treasurer. The treasurer is then directed by the state to mail out the bills not later than April 25. Taxes are due to the state on May 10. Last year, Porter County was a few weeks ahead having the bills issued and in the hands of taxpayers during the first week of April. Porter County Treasurer Mike Bucko said this morning he predicts similar results this year and is confident the county will make the May 10 deadline. "We are on track with that," said Bucko. Taxpayers interested in estimating their property tax bills may visit the DLGF's online property tax calculator at www.in.gov/dlgf/4932.htm. Taxpayers will need to know their property's assessed value, deductions and taxing district to use the calculator tool. The estimates provided are projections only, the DLGF says, and should not be taken as a statement of true liability. The final amount is determined by the county auditor. Tax rates generally increased throughout the county compared to last year. However, from the 29 taxing districts listed, a total of eight taxing districts saw their tax rates sink, most of which are from the Duneland area. Listed are the subsiding districts comparing their 2011 rates to their 2010 rates: Chesterton-Liberty Twp (2.1094, 2.1996), Pine Twp.- Michigan City School District (1.3818, 1.6267), Pines Town-Pines Twp. (1.7753, 1.9964), Portage Twp. (1.6917, 1.8255), Chesterton-Westchester Twp. (2.1613, 2. 2586), Burns Harbor-Westchester (1.7260, 1.7884), Dune Acres-Westchester (1.7391, 1.7433), and Chesterton-Jackson Twp. (2.0935, 2.1833). DLGF Assistant Director of Communication Amanda Stanley said there are many reasons why tax rates fluctuate and usually involves a budget increase to a local library, school, or township within that taxing district. Another reason may be due to assessed value, Stanley said. "If the assessed value goes down but all of the unit's budgets stay the same, the tax rates will go up." The taxing district with the highest tax rate in the county for another year in a row is Hebron-Boone Twp. with 2.9724. The lowest tax rate this year belonged to Pine Twp.-Michigan City School district with 1.3818. In 2010, Center Twp. had the lowest tax rate at 1.3672. Following below is the 2011 District Taxing Rates according to the budget order approved by the DLGF. The tax rate (the certified levy divided by assessed value) is expressed in terms of "dollars per $100 of assessed value." A copy of the Porter County budget is available at www.in.gov/dlgf/2559.htm District Taxing Rates Boone Township- 2.3761 Hebron (Boone)- 2.9724 Center Township- 1.3672 Valparaiso (Center)- 2.4181 Jackson Township- 1.3964 Liberty Township- 1.4486 Chesterton-Liberty Twp.- 2.1094 Morgan Township- 1.6769 Pine Township-Michigan City School District- 1.3818 Pine Township-Duneland School District- 1.4527 Beverly Shores (Pines)- 1.9440 Pines Town (Pines Twp.)- 1.7753 Pleasant Township- 1.7478 Kouts (Pleasant)- 2.1032 Portage Township- 1.6917 Portage City-Portage Twp.- 2.5957 Ogden Dunes (Portage)- 1.9641 Porter Township- 1.6104 Union Township- 1.5720 Washington Township- 1.7063 Westchester Township- 1.4799 Portage City- Westchester Township- 2.4975 Chesterton- Westchester Township- 2.1613 Burns Harbor (Westchester)- 1.7260 Dune Acres (Westchester)- 1.7391 Porter Town (Westchester)- 2.3897 Chesterton-Jackson Twp.- 2.0935 Porter Twp.-W Porter Fire- 1.5705 Valparaiso-Washington TWP- 2.7309
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