We Must Vote No … To Stop An Unnecessary Tax Increase

Please Read The Facts

WE MUST VOTE NO … TO STOP AN UNNECESSARY TAX INCREASE

A recent Courier letter to the editor from retired Grants Pass Public Safety Director Joe Henner essentially said that the proposed new City Fire District is a bad idea because it’s more money than our existing safety levy but would provide the exact same service. Also, he said that the proposed tax increase would only pay for unnecessary duplication of infrastructure to serve the new Fire District such as: an additional fire chief, and administration for finance, technology, human resources, and legal. We’re already paying our city government to provide all those services with the existing $1.79 levy. Henner hit the nail squarely on the head. A NO vote is the only rational decision.

The Grants Pass Public Safety Department and its Fire Division are very well funded, staffed, equipped and provides excellent service. The proposed new Fire District idea is being pushed by a small special interest group who want to run their own, made for them, unnecessary, inefficient new government agency…. and they want us to foot the bill for their fun! Why change what’s working very well? We must vote NO to stop this irrational idea in its tracks!

Special interests usually put their very worst ideas on the ballot in off-year special elections with the hopes of being able to push their agendas when they think voter turnout will be low. If they put this illogical Fire District charade on the ballot during next year’s general election they know it would go down in an embarrassing landslide.

That’s why we all need to VOTE NO to stop this right now. Don’t let a very small minority control our taxes! If we don’t VOTE NO our taxes will go up and we’ll have nothing new to show for it except our empty wallets.

Grants Pass Mayor Lindsay is running for a seat on the board of the proposed new Fire District and has a voter’s pamphlet statement that is disturbingly misleading. Lindsay wrote: “The current Levy has not changed in over 10 years while costs have risen.”

While technically true that the rate of property taxation has been consistent at a $1.79 per thousand, the existing Public Safety Levy now brings in approximately 27% more dollars annually than it did a decade ago due to increases in our property tax assessments. Why would our mayor not do his best to fully educate the public and present this proposal in an unbiased way?

Since Lindsay didn’t, we will more fully explain: Our existing $1.79 levy now brings in 27% more money annually than it did 10 years ago despite our area experiencing a historic real estate collapse from 2008 thru 2014. Also, the County Assessor’s office said that under more normal circumstances “about a 3.5% increase in the tax base can be expected every year: 3%for increased assessments plus .5% for growth.” Compounded over the coming decade that will be a 41% increase in revenue with our existing $1.79 levy. There is NO funding crisis for our Fire Department. This proposed new Fire District is a sham.

The Grants Pass Fire Department runs great and there is NO funding crisis.

The new proposed Fire District will not benefit us in any way but costs 13% more

Why Change What’s Working Well? … We MUST VOTE NO

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