05-22-1995 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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not covered by other funding sources. The other way property taxes can be used is that a specific levy amount can be collected each year and placed into a fund which will be used to fund projects. This would be similar to the city’s Improvement and Equipment Outlay Fund which is used for the replacement of capital items. The advantage of creating a fund is that it creates a stable levy amount rather than creating a potential for large increases or decreases in the levy from year-to-year based on whether a major project is constructed or not. 3. General Community Benefits vs. Property-Specific Benefits When the property tax is used as a funding source, the cost of the project is shared across all property owners rather than targeted specifically to those properties directly benefitting from the project. With MSA projects, there is a significant overall benefit to the community; since MSA roads, as collector roads, serve the general community in addition to serving the properties directly adjacent to the roadway. However, those properties directly adjacent to the roadway do benefit specifically, because the roadway does provide these properties with their specific accesses onto the public roadway system. In addition, commercial properties adjacent to MSA roads also directly benefit due to the roadway serving as a collector to bring traffic to the commercial businesses. 4. Matching Benefits with Funding Sources The general community benefits provided by MSA roads match the general community tax base on which property taxes are levied. The property-specific benefits provided by MSA roads match the property-specific targeting of special assessments. With MSA roads, the dual benefits point toward the use of dual funding sources. 5. Use of special assessments as an additional funding source. A. Advantages 1. ) Initiates the practice of using special assessments as a funding source for MSA road reconstruction projects. 2. ) Provides an additional revenue source to fiind the Willow Drive project. 3. ) In the specific instance of the Willow Drive project, both properties adjacent to Willow Drive are being significantly benefitted by the Highway 12 safety improvement project and neither are being asked to pay a portion of the City’s share of the project costs. Because the Willow Drive project is directly related to the Highway 12 project, it is reasonable that the adjacent property owners pay a portion of the Willow Drive project cost to reflect the direct benefits provided by the project. B. Disadvantages 1.) Potential opposition by adjacent property owners