[Vision2020] Re: Vision2020 digest, Vol 1 #781 - 8 msgs

[Mike Curley]

If more city council members (and city staff)had, over the years, been as responsive to 
the public as Jon Kimberling has been, there would be a lot less confusion among the 
citizenry and much more trust of the workings of city hall.  There are a few encouraging 
signs that the message is getting through. I hope the new council will find a way to be 
more active at getting information to us rather than just responding when the public 
voice gets so loud it can no longer be ignored.
Jon, although we have disagreed at times on facts and conclusions, thanks for your 
patient willingness to enter the dialogue and provide us with the "inside" view.  I am 
disappointed that you aren't a candidate in November, but I understand that a business 
and more importantly a young family need your skills even more than we do.  I just 
hope others will carry on what you have started.

Mike Curley


On 25 Sep 03, at 9:31, Jon Kimberling wrote:

From:           	"Jon Kimberling" <jon@n-k-ins.com>
To:             	"John Danahy" <jdanahy@turbonet.com>, "Vision2020" <vision2020@moscow.com>
Subject:        	Re: [Vision2020] Re: Vision2020 digest, Vol 1 #781 - 8 msgs
Date sent:      	Thu, 25 Sep 2003 09:31:11 -0700

> John is correct about the water rates. When the City discovered we had not
> been accounting properly for our water department, that resulted in a
> substantial rate increase. Just like many of the numbers I could reference
> here, I don't have the specifics right at my fingertips. However, I think it
> is also important that we look at some other factors:
> 
> Here is a chart of our actual tax rate for City taxpayers for the last few
> years:
> 
> 
>               Tax
> 
>       Year
>             Rate
> 
>       2003
>      4.75
> 
>       2002
>      4.62
> 
>       2001
>      4.51
> 
>       2000
>      4.53
> 
>       1999
>      4.55
> 
>       1998
>      4.38
> 
>       1997
>      4.49
> 
>       1996
>      4.55
> 
>       1995
>      4.69
> 
> 
> 
> Because our tax base continues to grow, our 2003 rate is a small percentage
> over the number dating back to 1995.
> In an email I posted on vision2020 during the budget process, I pointed out
> that unlike some of our neighbor communities who have taken the 3% increase
> every year, the City of Moscow has passed on taking this on several
> occasions. On other occasions, we have taken less than the maximum. My
> point- I believe the City is trying to find a balance between providing a
> high level of service while being sensitive to the burden we place on
> taxpayers.
> If you attended or watched the public hearing on fee increases, you know
> that our fees are not out of line with our neighbors. The decision to
> increase fees was driven by Councils desire to have fees more closely match
> the cost of the service provided. If not, taxpayers end up subsidizing
> services that benefit individuals. Plus, if I'm not mistaken it had been
> several years since the last round of increases. Engineering fees were
> increased a year ago but did not change this year.
> Water and sewer issues have been in the forefront of many of our
> discussions. We know that over time there will be a need to develop our
> infrastructure. If we go to a tiered rating system, we will need to buy new
> software, ect. My personal opinion is that it makes more sense to build
> those funds with incremental increases. I would expect these increases to
> continue. Again, what Moscow citizens pay is not out of line with our
> neighbors.
> In response to John's last statement, I'm not aware of anyone at the City
> who claims that we needed fee increases to pay for salary increases. In
> fact, the amount allocated for the coming years budget under the new pay for
> performance system is right in line with the amount allocated under the old
> step and grade with an adjustment for cost of living increases. Fees are
> supposed to cover costs. Salaries are paid out of tax revenues.
> If you have specific questions or desire more detailed statistics, don't
> hesitate to let me know. Additionally, I have my copy of the budget summary
> and detail books in my office at 205 S. Main. If you would like to review
> these, call my office and let me know when you are coming in. The number is
> 882-4414.
> 
> Jon Kimberling
> City Council Member
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "John Danahy" <jdanahy@turbonet.com>
> To: <vision2020@moscow.com>
> Sent: Thursday, September 18, 2003 3:39 PM
> Subject: RE: [Vision2020] Re: Vision2020 digest, Vol 1 #781 - 8 msgs
> 
> 
> >
> >
> >
> > Dale wrote:
> >
> > > > Let's hope that Moscow has a similar reaction during the next round of
> > > > tax-hike requests. Enough is enough.
> >
> >
> > It is already too late.  The most recent round of tax hikes started last
> > year when the city suddenly realized the water department was "broke",
> > continued with this years budget process which included a 3% property tax
> > increase, a 4% increase in water fees,(on top of last years doubling of
> > fees) and finished with this week's increase in almost all fees charged by
> > the city for "services", increases the city claimed were needed to offset
> > costs, such as the "pay for performance" salary increases.
> >
> > John
> > jdanahy@turbonet.com
> >
> >
> >
> > _____________________________________________________
> >  List services made available by First Step Internet,
> >  serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
> >                http://www.fsr.net
> >           mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com
> > ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ
> >
> 
> _____________________________________________________
>  List services made available by First Step Internet, 
>  serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.   
>                http://www.fsr.net                       
>           mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com
> ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ