It is not your father's Pacific

Every year, when we hold public hearings on setting the property tax rate and the budget for the following year, we can always expect people getting up and complaining we should be looking to cut spending and not raise taxes. This is an understandable opinion, but at least in Pacific it is one that ignores many facts.  This is a much different world than it was even a few short years ago.

First it should be pointed out that under the previous mayor (who happens to be one of the first people to complain) spending was much higher (when adjusted for inflation) than under my administration.  Ordinance 1513 which set the budget for 2002 established expenditures of $3,009,716 in the General Fund.  The mayor’s proposed budget for 2012 is $3,105,125 in spite that Pacific has seen almost a 20% increase in population and a CPI increase of nearly 18%.  There are many changes in State Law as well that have had a dramatic impact.

One of the more dramatic changes that have impacted local budgets was the passage of the Streamlined Sales Tax in 2007.  This changed where sales taxes were paid from where the business was located to a destination based system.  This reduced revenues to our city by an estimated $150,000 - $200,000 each year.  Although we did get a small amount back in mitigation this typically amounted to about 1/3^rd of what we saw previously.  Our revenues have also been dramatically impacted by the State Model B&O Tax ordinance, reductions in state and federal funding programs such as Community Development Block Grants and funding for Senior Services. Combined with the downturn in the economy our city has been hit over the past few years dramatically.  If it were not for a reserve that we built up since 2004 by being fiscally conservative we would not have been able to provide the same levels of service we have.

So for those who want to complain about taxes being too high I have no problem with listening to your concerns so long as you put everything in proper perspective.  In my administration we have a proven record of keeping taxes as low as possible. We have a proven record of making every penny stretch as far as it can go and of being good stewards of your tax dollars.