SSPRD TAX Alert 2010 - I was asked to post the Vote No on South Suburban Tax Increase on the May Ballot. Follow the link to read.
Filed under: News Flash, South Suburban Parks
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My husband and I spoke with Dave Lorenz, director of South Suburban, and asked him about the possible mill levy increase being on the ballot – this was back in November. He said he hoped that it would be approved and he hoped “maintenance” would be included in the language because there wasn’t that much open space left to purchase.
We attended the meetings leading up to the passing of the ballot language and the discussion was more about the concern of how much they could change the language of the 1999 ballot question and still be in compliance with TABOR requirements. Jerry Call, Chairman of the Board, did not support the mill levy question. He, too, did not like the additional language in the question.
If approved, the South Suburban Board for the next ten years will be able to spend the money as they see fit. In theory, all 100% of the money could be used for maintenance as there are other sources for the purchasing of open space. There is also $3.4 million left of the money raised by the 1999 tax increase that will be used for acquisition of open space. If it is used on maintenance then we can expect this tax to be permanent since maintenance is ongoing.
Another side of this ballot question that citizens generally don’t think about and that is the impact on business. One mill may not be a lot per home but it does amount to a healthy increase for businesses. This is not the right time economically to be raising their taxes.
When asked why now, one Board member told me that if they didn’t do it now then they would have to call it a tax increase. Talk about spin!