pcfd26chief
10-18-2007, 02:55 PM
To all residents of the Greenwater area:
On November 6th voters served by the Greenwater Fire Department will be asked to vote on Proposition 1/ Resolution 07-159, which restores the property tax collection rate to $1.00 per $1000.00 of assessed value.
This measure is commonly referred to as a lid lift. While this is not a “new” tax, it will result in an increase in the amount of property taxes paid per year. When a property is initially assessed, $1.00 out of every $1000.00 is dedicated to fire protection. Over time the property value increases. The amount of tax collected for fire protection increases as well, but, due to limits on how much your tax may be increased annually, it does not increase at the same rate. The current limit, or “lid”, is set at 1% per year. The annual cost of living tends to rise at a rate of approximately 3% per year. As a result the fire protection district has slightly less actual purchasing power per dollar assessed value each year.
The fire district budget is funded by two primary tax sources. One is the voter approved Emergency Medical Services levy that must be re-approved periodically. When it is re-approved, the collection rate is essentially reset at the appropriate level. The other source is the fire protection tax described in the paragraph above. Since this is not a renewable levy, the collection rate continues to dwindle unless re-established by a voter approved lid lift. This year, the fire department is requesting voters to approve this measure.
Increased fuel, maintenance, and equipment costs make it more difficult every year for the Greenwater Fire Department to operate within the established annual budget. In addition, it is our goal to establish reserve funds for long range planning for such items as facilities maintenance and improvement and apparatus replacement. The ability to plan ahead for these items eliminates the need to use credit, and eliminates the resulting interest expense to the district.
It is our goal to serve the community with a well trained and properly equipped fire department. Due to our remote location, waiting for a larger department to respond to our area and take care of a problem is simply not a viable option for us. The community deserves better service than that, and pays taxes to ensure that they receive that service. This ballot measure would be a valuable part of maintaining and improving the quality of the Greenwater Fire Department for the foreseeable future. If you have any questions about this ballot measure, please feel free to contact me at 663-2522 or 825-5722.
Thank you,
Paul Sowers, Chief, Greenwater Fire Department
On November 6th voters served by the Greenwater Fire Department will be asked to vote on Proposition 1/ Resolution 07-159, which restores the property tax collection rate to $1.00 per $1000.00 of assessed value.
This measure is commonly referred to as a lid lift. While this is not a “new” tax, it will result in an increase in the amount of property taxes paid per year. When a property is initially assessed, $1.00 out of every $1000.00 is dedicated to fire protection. Over time the property value increases. The amount of tax collected for fire protection increases as well, but, due to limits on how much your tax may be increased annually, it does not increase at the same rate. The current limit, or “lid”, is set at 1% per year. The annual cost of living tends to rise at a rate of approximately 3% per year. As a result the fire protection district has slightly less actual purchasing power per dollar assessed value each year.
The fire district budget is funded by two primary tax sources. One is the voter approved Emergency Medical Services levy that must be re-approved periodically. When it is re-approved, the collection rate is essentially reset at the appropriate level. The other source is the fire protection tax described in the paragraph above. Since this is not a renewable levy, the collection rate continues to dwindle unless re-established by a voter approved lid lift. This year, the fire department is requesting voters to approve this measure.
Increased fuel, maintenance, and equipment costs make it more difficult every year for the Greenwater Fire Department to operate within the established annual budget. In addition, it is our goal to establish reserve funds for long range planning for such items as facilities maintenance and improvement and apparatus replacement. The ability to plan ahead for these items eliminates the need to use credit, and eliminates the resulting interest expense to the district.
It is our goal to serve the community with a well trained and properly equipped fire department. Due to our remote location, waiting for a larger department to respond to our area and take care of a problem is simply not a viable option for us. The community deserves better service than that, and pays taxes to ensure that they receive that service. This ballot measure would be a valuable part of maintaining and improving the quality of the Greenwater Fire Department for the foreseeable future. If you have any questions about this ballot measure, please feel free to contact me at 663-2522 or 825-5722.
Thank you,
Paul Sowers, Chief, Greenwater Fire Department