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For the week of October 29 - November 4, 2003

News

Bellevue looks at increase in levy


"This is us planning. We need participation from the community."

Tammy Schofield, City Councilwoman


By MATT FURBER
Express Staff Writer

Increasing property taxes are now a subject of discussion for the Bellevue City Council. And demand for city services have pinched city staff for more of their time, all members agree.

Mayor John Barton has been fanning the embers of a discussion during his administration, and frequently looks at how to save the city money and make efficient use of employee work time, in the interim.

However, pressure on city services are increasing and the city needs more help, said Councilwoman Vivian Ivie. "The city levy increases every year based on the assessed value (of property in the city), but if a city wants to increase equipment, personnel and services it needs more money. We’ve never had a lot of new money to blow."

A discussion about a landscape maintenance contract with Bigwood Landscaping at the Thursday, Oct. 23, council meeting offered several clues on the issue. The Parks and Lands Board recommended that the city go out for more bids for next year’s maintenance, which involves a $10,000 contract. Barton steered the council away from expanding the issue, recommending that the council go with the Bigwood bid.

"Staff time will be eaten up by considering new bids," Barton said. "I am very reluctant to see this issue run through the mill (to look at more bids rather than approve the current proposal)."

Barton acknowledged that there were a few glitches in the contract for maintenance and improvements to O’Donnell field, but he was willing to compromise with a satisfactory field for now in the effort to be conservative with city funds. The contract was approved for another year, but the discussion was another indication of the strain on city resources.

Blaine County collects property taxes and distributes them for the budgets of the various city governments. The mill rate levy is applied against the assessed value of the property in each community.

Calculated from total city property values, Bellevue’s levy actually went down this year because total value has gone up. For 2002 Bellevue’s levy rate was .001342110. For 2003 it is .001329620.

For example, a levy rate of .0002 on a total assessed property value of $500 million would provide for a $100,000 budget.

Idaho law only allows a 3 percent annual increase in revenue raised from property tax for a city budget, so the maximum levy Bellevue could ask the voters for is .009.

The city can collect additional money through new construction, but only once people move in, Ivie said.

"If you have a lot of spec homes sitting empty you don’t get anything," Ivie said. "We have a set budget. Assessed value is more, but the budget can only increase a little. We need to ask voters to give us a little more money."

Presently, the city has seven full-time employees and four part-time employees. Rick Turner and Dwayne Durnburg together are managing maintenance of city streets and water and sewer services.

To increase the city’s ability to provide more thorough services, first the council wants to learn what Bellevue citizens want, the council said.

"This is us planning," said Councilwoman Tammy Schofield. "We need participation from the community."

The council plans to publish information about the city’s budgetary challenges and a questionnaire to be sent to residents along with the December water and sewer bill. Replies to the questionnaire will be accepted anonymously.

"You are trying to gauge the perception of the public," said city attorney Jim Phillips. He suggested the function of the survey was not only to address the concerns of the council, but also to get a feel for the views of the citizens of Bellevue.

As the council seeks information and feedback from the community, the result is likely to be a push to increase property taxes by increasing the mil levy, but for now the council is seeking citizen input.

 

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