Council to discuss $100M budget

Tax increase includes funding for AFN, planner

By Vickie Aldous
Ashland Daily Tidings

The Ashland City Council will hold a public hearing on the city’s proposed $100.24 million budget and property tax increase of 26 cents per $1,000 in assessed value, or $78 for the owner of a home assessed at $300,000.

The hearing will be held during the council’s regular meeting, which begins at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in the Ashland Civic Center Council Chambers, 1175 E. Main St.

Nearly 18 cents of the proposed 26 cent-property tax increase would go toward making the Ashland Fiber Network’s debt payments in the coming fiscal year that starts in July. The city must make a $864,454 payment on AFN’s $15.5 million debt in the 2006-2007 fiscal year.

The remainder of the property tax increase would fund a new city planner, who could be hired in January 2007, along with other items that include a $100,000 community visioning process, $10,000 for a public arts master plan and $2,000 to support the work of a new Economic Development Committee.

While the Ashland Citizens’ Budget Committee voted last month to pay for AFN’s debt through budget cuts elsewhere and the property tax increase, the city council could decide at Tuesday’s meeting to change how AFN’s debt payments are made. In one option, councilors could reduce the property tax for AFN’s debt but add a tax on utility bills.

In other items that affect the budget, Rogue Valley Transportation District officials say they are facing a $1.2 million budget shortfall and would need to charge the City of Ashland $436,965 a year to continue providing the bus service they now provide for about $290,000.

For several years, the city has subsidized bus service so that bus rides in Ashland are free. But in a memo to the city council, RVTD officials said they do not believe maintaining free service is a realistic option.

Also Tuesday, the council will consider the selection of an architectural firm to develop cost estimates and update a space needs analysis for the reconstruction of Fire Station No. 2 on Ashland Street. Voters could be asked in November to approve a bond for the fire station’s reconstruction.

The council additionally is scheduled to:

• review a citizens’ initiative that would change the city charter so that voters would have to approve any real estate sales tax. Although state law currently bans such taxes, various groups — including some affordable housing advocates — have advocated changing the law so that cities and counties could adopt real estate sales taxes.

• decide on a process to replace Councilor Jack Hardesty, who died on May 23. The council most likely will advertise to fill the position, conduct interviews and appoint a new person by July 22. The position will be up for election in November.

• adopt proposed findings on the Nevada Street Local Improvement District that the district’s boundaries were drawn correctly and that Public Works Director Paula Brown publicly declared a potential conflict of interest because she owned property in the district. The council also is being asked to find that she took steps to ensure any conflict was mitigated and did not receive any benefits not available to any other citizen.

Staff writer Vickie Aldous can be reached at 479-8199 or vlaldous@yahoo.com.

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