Idaho Mountain Express: Sun Valley won’t raise property tax

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Sun Valley won’t raise property tax

Public applauds council’s decision

By BRENNAN REGO
Express Staff Writer

Sun Valley residents have narrowly escaped an expected rise in their property tax rate next year.

The City Council voted Thursday to scrap an allowed 3 percent increase to the city’s property tax for fiscal 2013. The increase was originally approved by the council in July to add $79,000 to the Street and Path Fund.

Last week’s action was taken at the city’s second budget hearing after Councilman Nils Ribi made a presentation demonstrating an alternative method of balancing the budget.

“Guess what?” Ribi said at the meeting, “We don’t have to increase property taxes by 3 percent. We can eliminate that. We don’t need it.”

“I never wanted to consider a tax increase, but at the time I saw no other way,” Council President Bob Youngman said at the meeting.

“In fiscal year 2012, we received $50,000 more than we expected in state-collected sales tax revenues,” Ribi said in an interview. “These funds were not appropriated in the fiscal year 2012 adopted budget nor the 2013 tentative budget.”

According to Ribi, the state of Idaho collects sales tax revenues, then distributes a percentage of these revenues to the cities based on calculations of population and merit. Cities never know exactly how much they are going to get from the state each year.

Sun Valley expects to receive $29,000 in state-collected sales tax revenues for fiscal 2013. This money is not yet appropriated in the fiscal 2013 tentative budget, Ribi said in an interview.

Ribi proposed at the meeting that the city allocate this $50,000 and $29,000 in unappropriated revenue to the fiscal 2013 tentative budget’s Street and Path Fund instead of raising $79,000 from an increase to the property tax.

The motion to exclude the tax increase passed unanimously and received enthusiastic applause from Sun Valley residents in attendance at the meeting.

Brennan Rego: brego@mtexpress.com

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