City expects tax windfall from new businesses to reduce property tax levy

By Ralph Pokorny

Nevada Daily Mail

The new retail businesses that located in Nevada in the last year will probably give residents an unexpected property tax windfall this year by allowing the city to reduce one of its three property tax levies.

The city has property tax levies for the general fund, the library and parks. The parks levy is currently rolled back to zero until the one-half cent parks and recreation sales tax expires at the end of 2005.

Craig Hubler, city manager, told the city council Tuesday night that the city's one-percent sales tax collections are up by about 20 percent from 2003 and that will allow the city to reduce the general fund property tax from the current $.5433 to $.54 per $100 per assessed valuation instead of increasing it.

Hubler said that the city's assessed valuation will drop again in 2004, because of the depreciation of more than $100 million of new equipment 3M installed several years ago and he expects the State Auditor to set a general fund levy ceiling of $.59 per $100 assessed valuation and the library levy ceiling at $.1925 per $100 assessed valuation to offset the drop in assessed valuation.

This rollback in the general fund tax levy will cut citywide property tax collections by about $42,811 from the level allowed by the state's Hancock Amendment provisions.

The ceiling for 2003 was set at $.5742 per $100 assessed valuation for the general fund and $.1921 for the library.

In 2003, the library, which does not receive any sales tax, opted to raise its levy to the maximum allowed and Hubler said that he expects the library to ask to have their levy increased again to the maximum the Auditor's Office authorizes.

Last August, anticipating some increase in sales tax collections, the city decided to freeze the general fund levy at $.5433 per $100 assessed valuation rather than raising it to $.5875 per $100 as permitted by the State Auditor.

According to Hubler this will amount to a citywide tax reduction of $37,845 for 2003 and the anticipated reduction in the levy for 2004 will reduce the property tax collected for the general fund by about $42,811 from the level authorized by state law.

Each year the State Auditors office sets the city's maximum property tax levy based on changes in assessed valuation and the city expects to receive the annual levy calculations in the next two weeks. The city council must set the general fund and library property tax levies during August based on the figures from the Auditors Office.

In other business the council:

* Voted to move the starting time of the Aug. 3 city council meeting to 5 p.m. to allow the council to hold an executive session at 6 p.m. The 6 o'clock session will be the preliminary meeting with the State Auditors office to discuss the ongoing audit of the city.

* Passed on first reading a special ordinance donating a right-of-way easement at the Frank E. Peters Municipal Golf Course to Barton County Electric Cooperative, Inc. to make it easier for them to install and maintain the power lines needed for a storm siren and wireless network equipment to be installed at the golf course.

* Passed on first reading a special ordinance contracting with the Vernon County Treasurer for collection of Nevada real estate taxes that are delinquent for three years.

* Passed on first reading a special ordinance approving an agreement with Allegeir-Martin and Associates for providing design and engineering services for a housing development on North Main Street in the Barton Meadows area by Mark Selsor.

* Adopted Resolution No. 1087 approving travel expenses for Craig Hubler to go to Jefferson City to meet with state representatives about developing the Ozark Building.

* Adopted Resolution No. 1088 authorizing a waiver of the city's ban on shooting guns in the city limits to allow the Nevada Eagles Lodge to hold a turkey shoot on Aug. 7 as a fund-raising activity.

* Approved renewing the mobile home licenses for the Nevada Mobile Home Park, with seven mobile homes at 1514 East Austin Boulevard, owned by Edie Ramsey and Villa Nevada Mobile Home Park, with 48 mobile homes at 603 East Atlantic Street, owned by Heartland Land Company, Springfield. The renewal fee is $3 per mobile home.

* Approved the annual renewal of liquor licenses for all 25 business that sell alcohol either by the drink or in the original package.

* Approved an application from Nevada Firefighters Local No. 3032 to hold boot block at the intersection of Osage and Austin boulevards in conjunction with the MDA Telethon Labor Day weekend. The boot block will operate Sept. 3, 6-8 p.m., Sept. 4, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sept. 5, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

* Approved a taxi driver application for Dan Barnett who will be providing taxi service through MNOD Taxi Service.

Gave final approval to a modification to an agreement with B. R. Kapple, Inc. for plumbing services.

* Passed on second reading a general ordinance to bring the city code in agreement with state statutes on the sale of beer kegs that will require the labeling and recording of the sale of kegs of beer at the retail level.

* Passed on second reading a general ordinance updating Chapter 19 of the city code to among other things clarify the two hour parking limit on the angle parking in the center Cherry Street on the Nevada Square.

* Gave final approval to a special ordinance to retain John F. Mulligan Jr., Howard Paperner and Korein Tillery, LLC in a class action suit to recover collected back taxes on cell phones. This could amount to about $500,000 for the city of Nevada.

* Passed on second reading a special ordinance modifying the city's agreement with Allgeier-Martin and Associates, Inc. to provide engineering services for a new sewer line to be run south along Spring Street to a new housing development south of the Nevada Country Club.