The following is reprinted from the April 25 The Explorer
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Property tax fears may stall Oro Valley’s southwest annexation
Oro Valley town staff has decided that the town should wait to annex southwest to the Foothills Mall.
It has recommended that the Town Council table the expansion plans when it meets May 2.
Planning for the annexation, which would stretch south to Ina Road and west to Shannon Road, was approved by the town council Nov. 1, 2006.
However, after meeting with the area’s residents and large commercial land owners, town staff has decided that the expansion of the town may not be a good idea.
According to Scott Nelson, the town’s special plans coordinator, the possibility of the town adopting a property tax — a possibility discussed by town council members when considering upcoming budget needs — scared many of the annexation area’s residential property owners away from supporting the expansion.
To compete an annexation, the town would have to collect signatures from more than half of the area’s residents representing more than half of the area’s total assessed property value. Of the 1,456 property owners in the proposed annexation area, all but 51 were homeowners.
“This really in and of itself was primarily a residential area,” Nelson said. “It the residential property owners weren’t going to go ahead with (the annexation) it wasn’t going to happen.”
The town was negotiating economic incentives to entice the business owners, such as the Foothills Mall, to sign annexation petitions. According to Nelson, the terms proposed by business owners in those agreements also played a part in the staff’s recommendation to table the annexation.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Don Milliken Questions OV Council's Actions
The Following is a letter to the editor April 25 The Explorer by Don Milliken.
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OV property tax is not the answer
It is shocking to have witnessed the cost of living acceleration in Oro Valley during the last nine years of Mayor Paul Loomis’ administration. Despite the escalating tax burden, April 1 was the “roll-out” of a utility tax to cover the town’s inability to understand and plan for the inevitable loss of revenue from new construction fees. Now we see that the Town Council, once again, is toying with the idea of imposing a property tax on its citizens. One would be inclined to think with record breaking revenue collection by the state and county, that “enough would be enough.”
To show how really out of touch the town of Oro Valley is; a year of detailed planning by architects produced the $160 million dollar Naranja town site “boondoggle.” The numbers are staggering. To think a town with a population of 43,000 could afford something like this is incomprehensible. (Sticking the citizens with more taxes is not the answer!)
The town has a track record of blowing cash carelessly. The latest offering of $23.2 million of future revenue to entice Vestar to build a Wal-Mart is a prime example. The lack of planning also has quite a few zoning “flaws,” such as the re-do of roads since they couldn’t be done right the first time. The original guise of the utility tax was to account for a budget shortfall. Since that didn’t convince a majority of the council members to initially vote for it, they changed direction by exceeding the current budget in spending more money hiring additional personnel. The additional jobs were hinged on the passage of the utility tax, and the town continued to ignore addressing a shortfall.
Is this what we expect out of government? A blind, unguided ambition to continue to grow at all cost at the whim of any special interest? Before opening up the check book for another tax and accepting the only solution being put forth: “the town needs more money,” let’s see them stay in budget for a change and show some financial responsibility with the new revenue they are already reaping.
Taxes diminish our spending ability. While I accept there are certain things this buys, like roads and police, the town hasn’t demonstrated the ability to wisely spend the money they are taking from us now! With their track record, why would we send them more of our money?
Don Milliken,
Oro Valley
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OV property tax is not the answer
It is shocking to have witnessed the cost of living acceleration in Oro Valley during the last nine years of Mayor Paul Loomis’ administration. Despite the escalating tax burden, April 1 was the “roll-out” of a utility tax to cover the town’s inability to understand and plan for the inevitable loss of revenue from new construction fees. Now we see that the Town Council, once again, is toying with the idea of imposing a property tax on its citizens. One would be inclined to think with record breaking revenue collection by the state and county, that “enough would be enough.”
To show how really out of touch the town of Oro Valley is; a year of detailed planning by architects produced the $160 million dollar Naranja town site “boondoggle.” The numbers are staggering. To think a town with a population of 43,000 could afford something like this is incomprehensible. (Sticking the citizens with more taxes is not the answer!)
The town has a track record of blowing cash carelessly. The latest offering of $23.2 million of future revenue to entice Vestar to build a Wal-Mart is a prime example. The lack of planning also has quite a few zoning “flaws,” such as the re-do of roads since they couldn’t be done right the first time. The original guise of the utility tax was to account for a budget shortfall. Since that didn’t convince a majority of the council members to initially vote for it, they changed direction by exceeding the current budget in spending more money hiring additional personnel. The additional jobs were hinged on the passage of the utility tax, and the town continued to ignore addressing a shortfall.
Is this what we expect out of government? A blind, unguided ambition to continue to grow at all cost at the whim of any special interest? Before opening up the check book for another tax and accepting the only solution being put forth: “the town needs more money,” let’s see them stay in budget for a change and show some financial responsibility with the new revenue they are already reaping.
Taxes diminish our spending ability. While I accept there are certain things this buys, like roads and police, the town hasn’t demonstrated the ability to wisely spend the money they are taking from us now! With their track record, why would we send them more of our money?
Don Milliken,
Oro Valley
Bob & Diane Peters Recall SOVOG's Warning
The following is a letter to the editor April 25 The Explorer
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Wal-Mart choice was no surprise
The recent Vestar announcement that Wal-Mart would be the anchor store for their “upscale” Oro Valley Marketplace might have been surprising news for some residents of Oro Valley, but we’ll bet it wasn’t surprising to Chet Oldakowski. Remember him? Last year, Chet and his citizen’s group SOVOG (Stop Oro Valley Outrageous Giveaways) tried to tell Oro Valley voters that this is what would happen if voters approved the $23 million dollar Vestar sales tax incentive. SOVOG was right!
Meanwhile, Vestar was busy mailing out expensive colorful flyers and DVDs promising “an extraordinary shopping experience” with “unique, standout shops” and “No New Taxes!” if the incentive was approved by voters. No sooner did the referendum pass when Oro Valley residents were hit with a 2-percent utility tax and now the Town Council is discussing instituting a property tax as well! But didn’t Vestar’s flyers promise no new taxes? SOVOG was right again!
As reported in the EXPLORER last week (Oro Valley may stop using incentives to lure new retail businesses) several town council members are now questioning the wisdom of the Vestar incentive. Apparently, even the Town Council has now figured out that, dare we say it -— SOVOG was right!
In the March 2006 election, 42 percent of the voters were in opposition to the Vestar giveaway. But we can guarantee that that percentage has grown since the announcement of the Wal-Mart, the utility tax, and the impending property tax. It was a classic bait-and-switch sales pitch. “Upscale” turned into Wal-Mart. “No new taxes” turned into new taxes. Councilman Terry Parish, whose name and endorsements appeared on many of the Vestar flyers, asserted that this incentive would be a “home run for Oro Valley.” We’ve noticed that he has suddenly become very quiet. Could it be that he has finally figured out that his “home run” turned out to be a “foul ball?” Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive! But, alas, it was never SOVOG who deceived you.
Robert and Diane Peters,
Oro Valley
************************************************************************************
Wal-Mart choice was no surprise
The recent Vestar announcement that Wal-Mart would be the anchor store for their “upscale” Oro Valley Marketplace might have been surprising news for some residents of Oro Valley, but we’ll bet it wasn’t surprising to Chet Oldakowski. Remember him? Last year, Chet and his citizen’s group SOVOG (Stop Oro Valley Outrageous Giveaways) tried to tell Oro Valley voters that this is what would happen if voters approved the $23 million dollar Vestar sales tax incentive. SOVOG was right!
Meanwhile, Vestar was busy mailing out expensive colorful flyers and DVDs promising “an extraordinary shopping experience” with “unique, standout shops” and “No New Taxes!” if the incentive was approved by voters. No sooner did the referendum pass when Oro Valley residents were hit with a 2-percent utility tax and now the Town Council is discussing instituting a property tax as well! But didn’t Vestar’s flyers promise no new taxes? SOVOG was right again!
As reported in the EXPLORER last week (Oro Valley may stop using incentives to lure new retail businesses) several town council members are now questioning the wisdom of the Vestar incentive. Apparently, even the Town Council has now figured out that, dare we say it -— SOVOG was right!
In the March 2006 election, 42 percent of the voters were in opposition to the Vestar giveaway. But we can guarantee that that percentage has grown since the announcement of the Wal-Mart, the utility tax, and the impending property tax. It was a classic bait-and-switch sales pitch. “Upscale” turned into Wal-Mart. “No new taxes” turned into new taxes. Councilman Terry Parish, whose name and endorsements appeared on many of the Vestar flyers, asserted that this incentive would be a “home run for Oro Valley.” We’ve noticed that he has suddenly become very quiet. Could it be that he has finally figured out that his “home run” turned out to be a “foul ball?” Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive! But, alas, it was never SOVOG who deceived you.
Robert and Diane Peters,
Oro Valley
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