Our readers should be aware that there is a movement afoot to initiate a Property Tax to subsidize the police department.
As you may know, a Property Tax can not be imposed without voter approval. Those who think this idea has merit would like it to go on the ballot in May 2010----the same ballot that will include the election for mayor & 3 council seats, assuming the primary in March does not fill all these positions.
The suggested rate of $2.75/$100 assessed value would raise $14 million and would cost a homeowner with a $300,000 home approx $825 per year in additional; taxes.
A couple of questions we would ask:
Wouldn't it be prudent to have the police department be a little more fiscally responsible before a citizen would want a property tax? A few examples might be:
Cutting the police budget, not 25%, but to a point where it's comparable to other departments throughout the state. (Yeah! I know, some will say, OV has the best dep't and we shouldn't do as others do.)
Take home vehicles could and should be cut drastically
Spending "slush fund" money of $20,000 or more to do a "recruitment video" when we're in a "hiring freeze," makes no sense. That money could have been used much more efficiently.
A property tax if absolutely necessary should be considered. A property tax to subsidize the police dep't? No way!
We welcome your comments on the merits of this potential idea.
