Wednesday, October 27, 2004

Ketchum Cemetery District seeks tax hike

Temporary property tax increase would pay for numerous improvements


By GREGORY FOLEY
Express Staff Writer

Plans to improve and expand the historic Ketchum Cemetery include a new administrative building and a small amphitheater for American Legion services on the southwest corner of the site. Graphic courtesy of Ketchum Cemetery District.

Voters residing in the Ketchum Cemetery District will be asked on Nov. 2 to endorse a temporary, two-year property tax increase to pay for a planned $1 million cemetery improvement project.

The decision?which will be made by voters residing in a wide-ranging area that includes all of Ketchum and numerous subdivisions in Blaine County?will ultimately determine whether the cemetery district can expand and improve the site to accommodate the needs of a growing population.

Specifically, the language in the ballot measure will ask district voters if they support an increase to .000138 in the district-specific property-tax levy. Currently, the district levy is .000009699.

The proposal calls for the levy increase to be in place for two fiscal years, from 2005 to 2007, when it would then revert back to its existing rate.

Under the existing levy rate, the owner of a district property worth $400,000 pays approximately $4 per year to support the district. Under the proposal, the same property owner would pay approximately $55 for each of the two years.

The ballot question, which asks for a simple ?yes? or ?no? answer, does not explain the goals of the temporary tax increase.

However, district directors have said the tax hike is essential to the future of the cemetery, which is located along Highway 75 immediately north of downtown Ketchum. They have said the cemetery is quickly filling up and cannot be modified under the district?s five-figure annual budget.


The district?s budget for the 2003-2004 fiscal year was a mere $33,750. Under state law, the district can only increase its budget 3 percent each fiscal year, severely limiting its ability to garner revenues.

The Ketchum Cemetery District includes an expansive area that ranges for miles around the city of Ketchum?s boundaries but excludes Sun Valley. To the north, it includes Hulen Meadows and Lake Creek subdivisions. To the south, it includes Gimlet subdivision.

Revenues from the tax hike would go directly to offset the costs of a $1 million master plan the district put forth earlier this year. The levy increase is expected to bring in approximately $500,000 for each of the two years it would be in effect.

In June, the district received informal support from the Ketchum City Council to begin implementation of the master plan, which calls for installing new burial sites, improving public access and adding a network of paths through the area.

The historic Ketchum Cemetery was established in the 1880s and is the burial site of Nobel Prize-winning author Ernest Hemingway.


The district?s master plan calls for installing:

· A new administration building, a small amphitheater and a parking area on the southwest corner of the site, next to Highway 75.

· Two columbarium structures?used to intern ashes?parallel to Highway 75.

· New traditional cemetery plots at the base of the slopes on the north and east sides of the site.

· Natural burial sites?for spreading ashes?along with a memorial wall and a network of paths, on the slopes northeast of the cemetery.

· A new public gateway to the site via an unimproved section of Walnut Avenue.


The Ketchum Cemetery District prior to this summer had approximately 540 burial plots available to sell.

However, the demand for space at the site is increasing, particularly for locations to intern ashes, district officials have said.

The proposed tax increase must receive the support of at least 50 percent of district voters to be approved.




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