| Author | Post |
|---|
QCVillager
Guest
| Joined: | |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | |
| Status: |
Offline
|
|
Posted: Thu Jun 18th, 2009 12:27 am |
|
| duplicate post Last edited on Thu Jun 18th, 2009 12:28 am by
|
QCVillager
Guest
| Joined: | |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | |
| Status: |
Offline
|
|
Posted: Thu Jun 18th, 2009 12:27 am |
|
duplicate post
Last edited on Thu Jun 18th, 2009 12:29 am by
|
QCVillager
Guest
| Joined: | |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | |
| Status: |
Offline
|
|
Posted: Thu Jun 18th, 2009 12:27 am |
|
State budget could drastically impact local government operations
Posted Date: 6/17/2009
The Arizona State Legislature has approved a budget for the 2009-2010 fiscal year that includes drastic changes to the budgets of local cities and towns that will directly affect the public’s health, safety and quality of life. As part of the $8.2 billion budget, the Legislature has attacked local government with a multifaceted proposal to take away a variety of local revenues to support the state’s budget.
If the budget approved by the Legislature is adopted, cities and towns will be forced to eliminate vital programs and services, increase a wide range of fees and sell assets such as parks, city buildings and vehicles to pay for debt incurred over the past several decades by communities that were building infrastructure to meet the needs of growing populations.
The proposed changes and their impacts include:
Three-year freeze on collection of development impact fees
The Legislature’s budget would prohibit municipalities from collecting development impact fees for three years, which home builders currently pay with each building permit they obtain. The fees are the only opportunity cities have to hold home builders accountable for the impact of their projects and protect residents from runaway growth and inadequate infrastructure. The fees ensure that the cost for infrastructure that is needed by new residents is not paid for by residents who already live in the community.
The three-year suspension, which was proposed by the Home Builders Association of Central Arizona (HBACA), would take millions of dollars from cities in order to reduce the costs of building homes, effectively “bailing out” the housing industry on the backs of local governments and their residents. Currently in Arizona, 33 cities have adopted development impact fees.
Just as homeowners establish mortgages to pay for their homes over time, municipalities issue bonds and incur debt to pay for necessary community infrastructure. Cities have used development impact fees as a long-standing, state-authorized tool to finance infrastructure such as transportation projects, water, sewer systems, and fire and police services. Development impact fees are set aside like savings accounts for large infrastructure projects and are used to pay off the project debt over time. By law, the fees are designated for specific purposes and cannot be used for any other projects or expenses. These projects are typically part of a community’s long-term vision for its quality of life, which has been developed with extensive input from citizens.
Inability to collect the fees would mean that cities and towns would be forced to pay their infrastructure debt from general operating expenses, affecting programs and services. Municipalities would have to evaluate options such as reducing the number of their police officers and firefighters; closing parks; cutting or eliminating parks and recreation programs like baseball and soccer; cutting after-school program hours; reducing library hours; reducing funding for community arts and theater programs; eliminating community festivals and events; laying off employees; and placing a hold on new development because related infrastructure needs would be unfunded.
Cities and towns have proactively taken steps to reduce their budgets over the past few years in response to the economic downturn, including delaying construction of public projects, laying off employees, cutting employee pay and reducing services. If the approved Legislative budget goes into effect, cities would face severe additional cuts that further reduce services and programs.
The HBACA’s proposal to the Arizona Legislature directly contradicts statements made to municipalities in the past. Although the HBACA is currently proposing the freeze on collection of development impact fees to support the housing industry, its representatives previously told individual cities and towns that it supports the fees so that new growth will pay its fair share. The HBACA has also expressed its understanding of the importance of the fees to infrastructure construction.
Three-year suspension of local sales tax increases
The Legislature also approved a three-year freeze on cities’ and towns’ ability to increase local sales taxes. Combined with the reduction in revenues of commercial property tax assessments, this would severely limit the ability of municipalities to replace the lost development fee revenues.
Reduction in commercial property tax assessments
The Legislature’s budget would reduce commercial property tax assessments from 22 percent to 10 percent. Communities across the state stand to lose millions of dollars that are currently used to pay for essential services.
Loss of Vehicle License Tax
The budget also includes the diversion of revenue generated by the Vehicle License Tax from cities and towns to education. This also will result in significant financial loss to communities across the state.
Although the state mandates that cities and towns provide essential services such as construction inspections, clean water, wastewater services and air quality/dust control, the adopted Legislative budget extensively eliminates the income that would be needed by municipalities to pay for these services.
|
QCVillager
Guest
| Joined: | |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | |
| Status: |
Offline
|
|
Posted: Thu Jun 18th, 2009 12:26 am |
|
| another duplicate post - come on Newszap ! Last edited on Thu Jun 18th, 2009 12:29 am by
|
QCVillager
Guest
| Joined: | |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | |
| Status: |
Offline
|
|
Posted: Thu Jun 18th, 2009 12:26 am |
|
PLEASE write email or make phone calls on this !!!
State budget impact on Queen Creek
Posted Date: 6/16/2009
The Arizona State Legislature has approved a budget for the 2009-2010 fiscal year that includes drastic changes that could affect the future of the Town of Queen Creek. As part of the $8.2 billion budget, the Legislature has attacked local government with a multifaceted proposal to take away a variety of local revenues to support the state’s budget. Below are facts about the potential impacts on Queen Creek.
You are strongly urged to contact Queen Creek's legislative leadership and the Governor to express your opinions on the topic (see contact information below). If you have any questions about the impacts on Queen Creek, please contact the Town's Communications & Marketing Division at 480-358-3190.
• Queen Creek was incorporated in 1989 as a community with no infrastructure. Despite our efforts to manage our own growth responsibly during the last 20 years, growth around us has required us to build an entire community from scratch.
• The Town of Queen Creek, just like cities and towns across Arizona, has utilized a longstanding state mandated tool that allows municipalities to levy development impact fees to finance infrastructure. Queen Creek has used this resource as a method of developing the infrastructure of a fast-growing community.
• As developers build homes, they pay a development impact fee of $15,981 per building permit to pay for infrastructure including items such as transportation, water lines, sewer, libraries, parks and public safety. These fees ensure that development pays for itself, and the cost for infrastructure that is needed by new residents is not paid for by existing residents who already live in the community.
• For the 2009-2010 state budget, the Arizona Legislature has approved a plan that takes away the Town’s ability to charge these development fees. This three-year moratorium, which was proposed by the Home Builders Association, would take $13.9 million out of the Town of Queen Creek’s general fund, effectively “bailing out” the housing industry on the backs of cities and towns.
• Queen Creek has not relied solely on development fees, but has sold bonds that are secured by development fees. Without collecting development fees, we will still need to meet the debt service payments which impact the Town’s general fund.
• Due to the economic slowdown taking place on a local and national scale, Queen Creek is already struggling with a drastic loss in the development fees it collects that are used to pay its debt. The state budget that has been approved by the Legislature compounds this problem by further reducing revenues that the Town needs to make its debt payments.
• If the Legislature’s approved budget goes into effect and includes a three-year moratorium on commercial and residential development fees, the effect on the Town of Queen Creek would be:
o In FY2009-10, the Town would lose $2.5 million
o In FY2010-11, the Town would lose $4.2 million
o In FY2011-12, the Town would lose $7.2 million
• Queen Creek’s general fund is $20 million for the next fiscal year. The loss of an average of $4.6 million per year in development fees would mean a 23% hit to our general fund meaning the following impacts on services:
o Reducing the number of beats on our MCSO contract from five to four.
o Reduced fire and utilities services.
o Closing community parks.
o Eliminating departments and services such as: parks and recreation programs; neighborhood preservation services; road and park maintenance; customer service at Town Hall; and community outreach programs and events.
o Library hours would be reduced because of the Town’s need to reduce utility and maintenance costs.
o Re-evaluating the Town’s ability to educate the public and enforce programs such as water conservation, PM-10 dust control and others.
o The Town would consider the sale of assets such as vacant park land, public buildings and vehicles.
• Queen Creek has not just relied on development impact fees to build infrastructure. The Town also has local retail and construction sales taxes that provide revenue for Town needs. There is a 4.25% sales tax on construction, with nearly half of that going directly to new roads and intersection construction.
• At its June 17 meeting, the Town Council will be asked to consider increases in plan review, building permit and cost of service fees to help replace revenue that will be lost if the Legislature’s approved budget goes into effect. Should the moratorium on development fees be removed from the state budget, the Town would not pursue these fee increases.
• Queen Creek also adopted its first ever primary property tax to pay for public safety. In May 2007 voters approved the property tax.
• Although the state mandates that cities and towns provide essential services such as water, sewer treatment, building safety, fire and police protection, they are limiting municipalites’ ability to pay for these costs.
• The Town of Queen Creek has played by the rules, but is now faced with the prospect of making drastic cuts that will directly affect the health, safety and quality of life of our residents.
Governor Jan Brewer
(602) 542-4331
Senator Bob Burns, Senate President
(602) 926-5993
rburns@azleg.gov
Representative Kirk Adams,
Speaker of the House
(602) 926-5495
kadams@azleg.gov
District 21 Senator Jay Tibshraeny
(602) 926-4481
jtibshraeny@azleg.gov
District 21 Representative Warde Nichols
(602) 926-5168
wnichols@azleg.gov
District 21 Representative Steven B. Yarbrough
(602) 926-5863
syarbrough@azleg.gov
District 23 Senator Rebecca Rios
(602) 926-5685
rrios@azleg.gov
District 23 Representative Barbara McGuire
(602) 926-3012
bmcguire@azleg.gov
District 23 Representative Frank Pratt
(602) 926-5761
fpratt@azleg.gov
|
QCVillager
Guest
| Joined: | |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | |
| Status: |
Offline
|
|
Posted: Thu Jun 18th, 2009 12:24 am |
|
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2009/06/17/20090617impactfees0618.html
Gilbert, QC officials sound off on state budget proposals
by Alia Beard Rau - Jun. 17, 2009 01:25 PM
The Arizona Republic
Gilbert, Queen Creek and Apache Junction officials gathered Wednesday morning to publicly plead with the state legislature about budget measures they said would decimate residents' quality of life in their communities.
The budget bill, approved by the Legislature last week but not yet passed into law by the governor, includes several items that the mayors condemned:
• A three-year moratorium on municipalities collecting development impact fees, which home builders currently pay before beginning construction on each home. This money is used to pay for infrastructure for new development such as water treatment plants, parks, fire stations, libraries and police cars.
• A three-year freeze on local construction sales tax rates.
• A reduction in commercial property tax assessments from 22 percent to 10 percent.
• Requiring cities to give a portion of their vehicle license tax revenues to local school districts.
"These are challenging financial times for all of us- individuals, families, businesses and government," Gilbert Town Manager George Pettit said. "We certainly understand the magnitude of the financial challenges facing the sate. But some of these changes the legislature is discussing will have a dramatic impact on our lifestyle."
Queen Creek Mayor Art Sanders called the impact fee moratorium a "government bailout for the homebuilding industry."
The moratorium won't provide any additional funds to help the state make up its budget shortfall. But the Central Arizona Homebuilders Association has said it will provide an economic boost to the state by making new home construction more affordable and creating more jobs.
He said it will impact 33 Arizona municipalities to the tune of $425 million. In Queen Creek alone, Sanders said, it will cost the town $14 million over three years.
If the moratorium stands, Sanders said Queen Creek will likely have to cut sheriff's deputies and close parks such as Desert Mountain Park and Horseshoe Park. There would be no money for street widening or repairs, he said.
"Residents in Queen Creek may find potholes in their streets go unfilled and the weeds in the medians go uncut," he said. "Our new library will likely close."
Apache Junction Mayor John Insalaco said his city and many others have been responsibly cutting spending and responding to a down economy for the past couple of years.
"Just like Queen Creek, we did our darndest to make sure we were spending the money the right way," he said, estimating the moratorium will cost Apache Junction about $457,000. "Don't make this our mistake. We're not the ones that caused this."
City staff said the moratorium would require either staff layoffs or pay cuts, less funds for agencies such as the Boys and Girls Clubs of the East Valley and less money for economic development efforts.
Gilbert Mayor John Lewis, who was sworn into office Tuesday night, said the mayors are joining together to ask state leaders to be "mindful and careful" of the impacts their decisions have on municipalities and their residents.
He estimated the impact to Gilbert will be $134 million and would mean increased fees and new taxes.
"That would fall, the burden, to our citizens," he said. "That is no way to stimulate the economy. This would not be the stimulus that would help anybody."
Last edited on Thu Jun 18th, 2009 12:25 am by
|
Current time is 06:38 am | |
|
|
|