November 21, 2007
Property tax for OV
Oro Valley council members have long behaved like reluctant swimmers, waggling toes cautiously in what they know to be icy water, then hastily retreating to the comfort of a towel spread on the beach far above the water line.But last week the Oro Valley Town Council finally took the plunge.
The council members laid the ground work for the 33-year-old town’s first property tax.
The issue will be put to a town-wide vote in November 2008.
The tax money collected, along with funds collected by issuing $48 million in bonds, would be used to add sports fields, basketball courts and restroom facilities at the now undeveloped 213-acre Naranja Town Site off Naranja Drive not far from the Town Hall.
The property tax of 28 cents per $100 assessed value would expire when the bonds are paid off.
Oro Valley residents need these park facilities. Many, however, say far more should be developed at the site, such as swimming facilities or a community center, as recommended in a $150-million design that the council determined too extravagant.
But it’s a start.
If the joint bond and tax measure pass next November, it could signal that Oro Valley, running out of revenue from development impact fees, might take the plunge again, but this time seek more general property taxes.
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