After reading several negative comments in the newspaper from the public and also the staff of the Monroe Times about the Transportation Utility Tax, it is clear that misinformation and misconceptions about this tax abound. I would like the public to consider some things in their thinking about this topic.
First, I believe the word "tax" is what upsets people. That is understandable when the economy is bad and people are struggling and feel the pressure of having another tax added to them. Maybe the better word for this is "fee." For some reason that word fee doesn't evoke as much negativity, even though the end result is the same (the citizen still pays for the service).
Whenever work is done on our infrastructure, the money has to come from somewhere. It isn't free. People commonly ask, "then what are we paying for in our property taxes. Shouldn't the taxes pay for this?" The answer to that is not all that simple. There are many services the City provides for its citizens that come out of property taxes, such as your police protection, fire protection, snow plowing, parks and recreation programs, senior center, and much more. Each year the cost of performing these services has gone up, and the City cannot increase the operating budget greater than 2 percent over the previous year. We have to keep up the sidewalk repairs, curb and gutter installations, and other street work.
In the past, the City assessed property owners for the work when it was done in front of their homes, resulting in thousands of dollars they had to pay. This can be devastating to many families. A recent example are the stories that were relayed last year by property owners on 16th Avenue when they received their notices in the mail and came to the public hearing to appeal to the City Council not to assess their property. The council listened, and prevented this from happening. I surveyed many, many communities and so did the city clerk. When we polled our results together, it was obvious many other communities did not assess the property owners and we were about the only town that did. So, we now have to look at other forms of funding.
A Transportation Utility Tax (oops, here we go again with the word "tax" again) was suggested. We had a representative of a company that deals with transportation utilities speak to members of the council and explain what this entails. So now I ask you, the public, to consider which scenario seems better to you?
Let's say, hypothetically, you know that work will be done to the sidewalks, curbs and gutters, and streets along your property. That could cost you thousands of dollars (the city will assess this to you and you have 90 days to pay this and then interest will be added to the unpaid portion). Then consider the second alternative (hypothetically) - you pay pennies on the dollar each year (instead of the assessment). Which works better for you? Would you rather pay dollars for dollars spent, or would you rather pay pennies for dollars spent? Which can you afford? As a residential property owner, I think the decision is a no-brainer.
There have been people that paid for their assessments in the past with the previous system and we are considering options to help those people.
All property owners (residential and business) would be paying a fee. I'm sure they all have questions. All those questions can be brought up at a question-and-answer session open to the public on Tuesday, June 16, at the end of the City Council meeting in the council chambers at City Hall. The meeting starts at 7:30 p.m. Please bring all your questions to this session.
- Jan Lefevre represents Ward 4 on the Monroe City Council.
First, I believe the word "tax" is what upsets people. That is understandable when the economy is bad and people are struggling and feel the pressure of having another tax added to them. Maybe the better word for this is "fee." For some reason that word fee doesn't evoke as much negativity, even though the end result is the same (the citizen still pays for the service).
Whenever work is done on our infrastructure, the money has to come from somewhere. It isn't free. People commonly ask, "then what are we paying for in our property taxes. Shouldn't the taxes pay for this?" The answer to that is not all that simple. There are many services the City provides for its citizens that come out of property taxes, such as your police protection, fire protection, snow plowing, parks and recreation programs, senior center, and much more. Each year the cost of performing these services has gone up, and the City cannot increase the operating budget greater than 2 percent over the previous year. We have to keep up the sidewalk repairs, curb and gutter installations, and other street work.
In the past, the City assessed property owners for the work when it was done in front of their homes, resulting in thousands of dollars they had to pay. This can be devastating to many families. A recent example are the stories that were relayed last year by property owners on 16th Avenue when they received their notices in the mail and came to the public hearing to appeal to the City Council not to assess their property. The council listened, and prevented this from happening. I surveyed many, many communities and so did the city clerk. When we polled our results together, it was obvious many other communities did not assess the property owners and we were about the only town that did. So, we now have to look at other forms of funding.
A Transportation Utility Tax (oops, here we go again with the word "tax" again) was suggested. We had a representative of a company that deals with transportation utilities speak to members of the council and explain what this entails. So now I ask you, the public, to consider which scenario seems better to you?
Let's say, hypothetically, you know that work will be done to the sidewalks, curbs and gutters, and streets along your property. That could cost you thousands of dollars (the city will assess this to you and you have 90 days to pay this and then interest will be added to the unpaid portion). Then consider the second alternative (hypothetically) - you pay pennies on the dollar each year (instead of the assessment). Which works better for you? Would you rather pay dollars for dollars spent, or would you rather pay pennies for dollars spent? Which can you afford? As a residential property owner, I think the decision is a no-brainer.
There have been people that paid for their assessments in the past with the previous system and we are considering options to help those people.
All property owners (residential and business) would be paying a fee. I'm sure they all have questions. All those questions can be brought up at a question-and-answer session open to the public on Tuesday, June 16, at the end of the City Council meeting in the council chambers at City Hall. The meeting starts at 7:30 p.m. Please bring all your questions to this session.
- Jan Lefevre represents Ward 4 on the Monroe City Council.
