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Strategic Planning Community Forum
The City of Grants Pass would like to receive comments and suggestions from citizens on what they believe are the highest priority, most important things for the City to accomplish at the Strategic Planning Community Forum November 2, 2017. Read on... -
Employment Opportunity: Accounting Technician
We are looking for a full time Accounting Technician. If you excel at customer service and cash handling, then this position may be ideal for you! Read on... -
Employment Opportunity: Police Officer
The City of Grants Pass is accepting applications for the position of Police Officer for the Public Safety Department. Read on... -
Request for Proposal - Call for Artists
The City of Grants Pass has recently renamed City-owned parking lots on a wildlife theme. Process is underway to place City-branded wayfinding signage in an effort to improve the appearance of downtown and enhance the tourist experience. Read on...
On July 24, 2017, the City Elections Officer received a proposed ballot title for a measure to be placed on the ballot for general election on November 7, 2017 in the City of Grants Pass. Measure 17.83 proposes a renewal of the current Local Option Taxes for Public Safety.
City Levy Summary Information Document
Ballot Title
CAPTION:Three-year City Police & Fire Local Option Tax.
QUESTION: Shall Grants Pass levy $1.79 per $1,000 assessed value, continuing City Police and Fire services three years beginning July 2018? This measure renews current local option taxes.
SUMMARY: This is not a new tax. This tax renews the current City Police and Fire levy. The current levy for Grants Pass Police and Fire operations ends June 30, 2018. The replacement levy would continue funding emergency police and fire response – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Public Safety services include neighborhood patrols, detectives, criminal investigation, traffic enforcement, fire protection, fire prevention, rescue, drug enforcement, gang prevention, dispatch, crisis support, Citizens Public Safety Academy, and response to vehicle crashes and emergency medical calls. The replacement levy would help maintain current City Police and Fire response time standards to emergency calls.
This replacement levy would fund only City Police and Fire operations and would ensure City police officers and firefighters are not laid off when the current levy ends on June 30, 2018.
This 3-year local option levy of $1.79 per $1,000 assessed value would fund City Police and Fire operations. The levy would be approximately $299 per year for the average Grants Pass home.
The estimated tax cost for this measure is an ESTIMATE ONLY, based on the best information available from the County Assessor at the time of estimate. The proposed rate would raise approximately $5,538,000 in Fiscal Year 2018-2019, $5,676,000 in Fiscal Year 2019-2020, and $5,818,000 in Fiscal Year 2020-2021.
Explanatory Statement
CONTINUED POLICE AND FIRE SERVICE. This is not a new tax. This tax would replace the current City police and fire levy at exactly the same tax rate. Since 1986, City voters have approved police and fire financing by approving levies. In 2013, local voters approved the current levy for Police and Fire/Rescue services. It expires June 30, 2018. The proposed levy would replace the expiring levy to continue to fund City police and fire services for the next three years.
POLICE AND FIRE FUNDING. Public Safety in Grants Pass includes Police, Fire/Rescue, Emergency Communications, 911 and Dispatch, Code Enforcement, and Crisis Support Services. All property taxes collected in Grants Pass are used exclusively for these police and fire services. Over the past two decades, the permanent property taxes have not been enough to support police and fire services. Police and Fire local option taxes, such as this one, have been approved to provide public safety funding.
WOULD MAINTAIN CURRENT POLICE AND FIRE SERVICES. This Local Option Tax Rate Levy would maintain current services including police and fire/rescue emergency responses, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, 911 and dispatch services, traffic enforcement, gang prevention, major crimes investigations, neighborhood patrols, crime/fire prevention, school programs, drug enforcement, K-9 program, community policing, citizen public safety academy, vehicle crash response and emergency medical response.
TAX IMPACTS. This proposal is for a three-year local option tax levy to fund City Police and Fire Services from July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2021. The tax rate for this levy would be $1.79 per $1,000 of assessed value. The proposed rate would provide approximately $5,538,000 in Fiscal Year 2018-2019, $5,676,000 in Fiscal Year 2019-2020, and $5,818,000 in Fiscal Year 2020-2021. For a single family home in Grants Pass with a real market value of approximately $205,692 and a taxable assessed value of $166,762, if the levy is approved, the property owner would continue to pay a tax of $1.79 per $1,000 assessed value or approximately $299 for Fiscal Year 2018-2019.
RENEWAL OF CURRENT LOCAL OPTION TAXES. Renewing the Local Option Tax would continue to provide tax funding for Public Safety. If the levy is not approved, this tax resource would not be available to Public Safety. This replacement levy is to help maintain the current City Police and Fire response time standards for emergency calls. If approved, the continuing levy would remain unchanged from the levy that will expire June 30, 2018.