"The property tax portion of our budget is $33 million — $27 million goes to fund the fire and police departments, $2.6 million goes toward the GO bond that built Kings Corner and Garrity Boulevard, $1.6 million goes to keep the library open, and the remaining $1.8 million is split among streets, cemetery, parks, airport, and other departments. The only place left for cuts that would significantly lower the budget is in fire and police levels, and every citizen I’ve talked with finds that unacceptable because they recognize the danger in that step backwards."
Nampa rakes in $33 million in property taxes but what is not mentioned is $3 million siphoned right off the top for Urban Renewal/Nampa Development Corporation to spend as they choose with no voter oversight.
Yes, Nampa will get a sparkling new building for the police department but if they had $3.56 million shifted out of the property tax it would not be necessary to increase the budget by 5%. They would in fact be running a $1.5 million surplus. (Maybe not, upon reflection they would have found ways to spend that money and more.)
Point here is, Urban Renewal is a massive tax shift with 10% of total property tax revenue going to Nampa's urban renewal agency. Caldwell is even worse in their take of property taxes. Caldwell gets $12 million in property tax and UR takes $6 million right off the top. The math here suggests a 50% take right off the top by Caldwell Urban Renewal.
These two cities have cleverly and legally created about a $10 million a year tax shift on all county taxpayers. This money has to be made up with higher levy rates on every county resident to make up for this loss to all taxing entity budgets. Yet they tell us UR is at no cost to taxpayers.
Urban renewal law in Idaho needs a legislative fix and they need it now or property taxes will continue to skyrocket, even in a poor economy and declining home values.
I don’t know when people will wake-up but you are going to be taxed out of your homes and businesses. Tom Dale and Garrett Nancolas just don’t get it they think they are conservatives, which is further from the truth than the distance from the Equator to the North Pole. Dale and Nancolas like being the mayors, but they don’t like to put the work into it. The same goes with most on the city counsels of the two cities they are just rubber stamps for the asinine schemes the two mayors come up with.
ReplyDeleteWhen challenged the mayors and their cronies try to defame the challengers as “sour grapes” If you happen to read this wake-up and smell the coffee these people need to go!
AND the sparkling new police building is being funded by a Bond that voters did not pass with a bond election. Why not? Can Urban Renewal authorize a bond too without voter approval? Bottom line, the $$$ Urban Renewal got from taxpayers did not go toward building the new police building--I would like to know where that went. Exorbitant salaries maybe?
ReplyDeleteWe received the check register for Nampa Development Corp. some month back. All expenses went for land, meetings, legal, and other uses permitted under UR Laws in Idaho.
ReplyDeleteThe issue at hand is taxpayer accoutability and our Idaho Constitutional rights to vote on debt.
Urban Renewal laws need to limit the scope of UR to inner city blight clearance and renewal. And that is not the case with UR permissions in the current laws.
Essential city and county services suffer because of UR abuses.
After having more than 1 conversation with Mr. Dale on this matter it is clear that he feels the only thing the taxpayers should do is pay the taxes. One comment he made that I found particuly interesting and I quote " By preventing the tax payers from voting on the new police station we protected their constitutional rights. Maybe someone can explain that to me, as I don't quite understand it.
ReplyDeleteAs long as people can watch their sitcoms on tv at night and see the mayor attend church on Sunday, everything must be ok. Just trust these guys.They know what's best for our money... I'm pretty sure.
ReplyDeleteBrian Vermillion
Caldwell
@Bob, Mr. Dales words are spoken like a true liberal.UR is not based upon any solid economic or financial principle. UR is based on upon the popularity of the program for Mr. Dale and Mr. Nancolas. UR is taxation without representation. All these buildings cost millions and then who is going to pay for the maintenance and repairs?
ReplyDeleteWe are out of cash. Tom Dale and Garret Nancolas just don't get it. You can't spend your way out of poverty. Urban renewal has so many businesses on the edge of the cliff of bankruptcy and yet they could care less.
ReplyDeleteUrban renewal projects for new bulidings and no vote of the people paying the bills is just plain wrong. It is nothing more than a big power trip for these people. What is even more paradoxical is our county commissioners speak no evil about urban renewal abuses in Caldwell and Nampa.
$66 million spent by urban renewal agencies would have bought and paid for a new jail and other services. Money is gone now, too bad people can't seem to connect the dots on this scam.
Urban renewal is the only thing that has changed Caldwell for the better in the past 50 years. Much of the growth in property values came as a result of the welcome mat placed at Caldwell's door by urban renewal and Mayor Nancolas. Paul A. never has his facts right. The last vote proved that 74% of voters support Mayor Nancolas and I'm one of them. I have never seen a bigger bunch of misinformed cry babies than I see on this blog. Garret's not perfect but he's the best we've seen in decades.
ReplyDeleteHelp me please... with why downtown Caldwell remains pretty much the same slum it was 13 years ago save a water feature and a college building for TVCC. I don't undertand why Caldwell taxpayers got stuck with building a multi-million dollar building for an out of state college.
ReplyDeleteI have yet to see a rental agreement for this building and all the trappings that go with it. Was CWI offered anything like this? At least CWI is an Idaho college.
Live, work and play in Caldwell is my recall on the Mayor's campaign slogan and downtown was supposed to be a priority. What happened to all the money? Sky ranch, the YMCA, the creek, little of which generates a dime in tax revenue.
The county fair will be moving out of Caldwell, the health dept. is mving out of downtown. Downtown Caldwell looks like it got very little of the urban renewal money to me.