Monday, October 7, 2019

Get To Know: GRFD Gets 55% Of Its Tax Subsidy From Oro Valley Property Tax Payers

Golder Ranch Fire District is A $31million business
Golder Ranch Fire District revenues total almost $31million in 2018. Expenses almost equal revenue. Generally, their goal is to spend what they receive each year. This is "normal" for a quasi-public enterprise. About a third of the assets owned by GRFD are for vehicles, apparatus and equipment. Buildings are the largest portion of assets owned.

Property taxes are 84% of total GRFD revenues
The taxes we pay to the district are the most significant source of revenue for GRFD. GRFD assesses taxes based on the class of the asset. For example, residential property is assessed a tax base on 10% of the limited cash value ("LCV") of that property. That value is multiplied by a tax rate per $100 of the LCV value. The 2018 tax rate was $2.31.

Oro Valley residents are the largest source of GRFD Revenues
Source: GRFD 2018 CAFR
Oro Valley parcel assessed values are 57% of the total values of the district. The number of Oro Valley parcels are 44% of the total.

This disparity in valuation results in Oro Valley residents paying more than their fair share into GRFD revenues.

GRFD also experiences economies of scale in serving Oro Valley residents. Oro Valley's population density is much greater than the rest of the district. Oro Valley land area is 16% of the total land area served by GRFD; yet Oro Valley population is 71% of the total GRFD population served.

Our conclusion: Oro Valley residents have a bigger "stake in the game" than residents from any other communities. 
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