Clayton's New Parcel Tax 2.0. - Here is What Peter Cloven and the Pioneer are Not Telling You

By Clayton Watch

According to the city manager's February 1, 2022 staff report the projected General Fund deficit for 2022/2023 is not $672,000 reported in the Pioneer or $629,703 shown on the staff report, it is $109,703.

The $520,000 difference is what the city manager is calling her unmet needs that include hiring a police Lieutenant (+$250,000), hiring an in-house city engineer instead of a contract engineer (+$50,000. Probably a low estimate. I am not sure why we need an in-house engineer now because we have always had a contract engineer), additional cost related to streetlights and stormwater (+$50,000 to $100,00. The report does not identify what these cost are), improved IT support (+$50,000), increased audit cost (+$25,000), additional street maintenance (+$25,000. The report does not identify what these cost are. Most of the money for road maintenance is "return to source revenue"--gas tax, vehicle license fees)

The report does not address the revenue side. What are the assumptions used to project future property tax revenue. With property values on homes sold going for over 1 million was this part of the estimate? Why didn't the report look at leasing out Endeavor Hall or help the property owner find a tenant for the vacant retail building on Oak Street (It has been vacant for over 14 years) and other revenue sources? In addition, the report did not look at contracting out landscape maintenance instead of in-house.

Bottom line: City leadership is proposing a new parcel tax that will generate up to $1.7 million a year to cover an actual (if it is even accurate) projected $109,000 deficit next year.

I find it deplorable that Cloven did not tell us the truth about the budget situation. I am not sure why he found it necessary not to disclose this in the era of transparency we are living in. Apparently, we are being asked to support a new parcel tax to meet the city manager's unmet needs.

We appreciate you for reading this article.

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