Calling All Painters and Handymen!

AUGUST 2008
City Council Openings
Coming in November
Important! Public Meeting
for Tax Base Proposal
This coming November, along with the state and national
elections, Tangent will be voting for three positions on the
City Council: the mayor; and two council member
positions. The mayor’s term is a two-year term, while
each council position is a four-year term. To qualify, you
must live in Tangent at least one year. You can file by
paying $10.00 or gathering 25 signatures from registered
voters. The deadline for turning in a petition for
these offices is August 27, at 4:30 p.m. For more
information, contact City Hall.
On August 11, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. at the Central
Electric Training School, the City will be holding a
public meeting. The purpose of the meeting is to hear
the City Council’s proposal to put on a tax base on the
upcoming 2008 November election. All citizens are
welcome to come and give the City Council feeback, for
or against. At this point the city plans to recommend a
tax base of $4.50 per thousand of assessed value as a
“place holder”. They do not intend to assess the whole
amount for the next fiscal year. All citizens of the city will
be given a chance to vote on the tax base this November.
The City has hired ICF Jones & Stokes to help develop
the Stormwater Drainage Plan. The work is being
funded by a $50,000 grant from Oregon Department
of Fish and Wildlife. Up to this point, volunteers from
the Drainage and Parks Committees have been involved
in applying for the grant and determining the scope of
work. A SPECIAL THANKS goes to Tara Putney, of
the Calapooia Watershed, for her assistance throughout the process, as well as many volunteers, such as Del
Shirley, Dan Leahy, Lance Weinberg, Mike Toney, Chris
Schaffner, Jay Sperling, Debra Brush, Annette Wright,
Joanne McLennan, and Seaton McLennan.
NOW the City needs other community members
to get involved in the process. It would only be a one year
commitment of approximately one meeting per month.
We are particularly interested in citizens with
biological, environmental, ecological, or
engineering interest and backgrounds.
But that is not required. Come help make Tangent a
more livable environment. If you are interested in
helping with the drainage study, please call City Hall.
Calling All Painters
and Handymen!
Stormwater Drainage Plan
Getting Underway
SEE PAGE 3 FOR MORE INFORMATION >>
The Bass Estate
(City Hall) needs
some repairs and
we are looking for
volunteers
to help paint
the interior, replace
carpeting as well as minor
repairs on the car port
and well house.
Please contact
Georgia for details:
Call 928-1020 or email
georgia@cityoftangent.org
TA N G E N T C O M M U N I T Y N E W S L E T T E R
JANUARY 2008 PA G E 2
Thank you
Tammy Casper!
We appreciate all
your hard work
over the past four
years as City Councilor
and everything you’ve
done for the citizens
of Tangent.
A Place Where People,
Water, Roads, Parks, and
Paths Overlap
Tangent has been fortunate this year to also receive a
Transportation Grant from Oregon Department of
Transportation (ODOT). Between this grant and the
grant for stormwater drainage (see page 1), we are
beginning to see some exciting possibilities as our
common objectives overlap.
Planning Commission Holds
Another Focus Group
Several months ago, the Planning Commission met with
folks in the northern UGB to hear their thoughts on
issues. That’s because Del Shirley, Planning Commission
Chair, is always looking for citizen involvement and
input, before an issue comes up. This past month they
hosted another neighborhood meeting on July 9th, this
time it was a BBQ/Potluck. The purpose was to hear
input regarding the Bass Estate, the City Hall property,
and the city park. Concerns about maintenance and
upkeep were a major topic, as well as the history and
significance of the property to the citizens and city.
About 35 people attended—enjoying a delicious potluck
and barbeque. All were invited to tour the house (city
hall) and the old barn.
Everyone participated in the lively discussion and many
voiced strong feelings about the Bass Estate property
and buildings. Those opinions were taken back to the
Planning Commission, at their July 24 meeting, and we
will report any conclusions in next month’s newsletter.
As we develop a better plan to move stormwater through
the city, we hope to take advantage of our natural
riparian drainage areas and design attractive, safe, and
environmentally-friendly bike paths and walkways that
will connect the various neighborhoods.
Just imagine—a walking/bike path that winds from
the elementary school through the downtown neighborhoods and over to Lone Oaks Estates. Imagine planned
green space between developments that allow Tangent to
maintain the look and feel of a rural community.
As with so much of the work in Tangent, we rely on
volunteers. It’s an opportunity to be involved and bring
with you your vision for how to make Tangent a more
livable place for your family. Call City Hall today and ask
how you can help!
City of Tangent Contact Info:
TANGENT CITY HALL: P.O. Box 251, Tangent, Oregon 97389
(541) 928-1020 tel • (541) 928-4920 fax
City Administrator: Georgia Edwards
Contact: Georgia@cityoftangent.org
Tangent Web Site: www.cityoftangent.org
TA N G E N T C O M M U N I T Y N E W S L E T T E R
AUGUST 2008 PA G E 3
PLEASE READ: City of Tangent Tax Base Fact Sheet
Q: What is a Property Tax Base?
A: A property tax base is legal permission to collect taxes and
specifies the maximum tax (in dollars per $1000 assessed
property value) that can be collected.
Q: Who sets a Tax Base?
A: A Tangent tax base can only be established by a vote of
the citizens of the City of Tangent.
Q: Can a Tax Base be increased?
A: NO. Under state law, once a tax base is passed, the base
cannot be changed except by voting to change the Oregon
Constitution.
Q: Why a Tax Base now?
A: The total tax base on every piece of property in Oregon
is subject to limitations set out in the Oregon Constitution.
That limitation applies to all tax bases that can be
established by local governments and special districts and
constitutes the “tax pie” used to fund local public
operations.
Currently the City of Tangent is not included in the local
property tax pie. Tangent voters can approve only a small
tax base because the remainder of the pie is already
allocated to other entities. If other entities get there before
we do, there will be NO room left for Tangent!
Q. What are the benefits of a Tax Base?
A: Tangent DOES NOT receive some state money simply
because it has no tax base! But, the adoption of a tax base
is primarily a “place holder” to allow Tangent to receive tax
money at some time in the future; Millersburg did this.
Q: Does passing a Tax Base mean that I will
immediately begin paying taxes to the City?
A: NO. The tax base just allows the city to levy a city property
tax in the future.
Q: What is a Tax Levy?
A: A tax levy is the actual amount to be collected. It is stated
in terms of tax dollars per $1000 dollars of assessed
property value. The levy is established during the
city’s annual budget process, and is based on the city’s
estimates of expenses and projected income during the
following fiscal year.
Q: Can a Tax Levy change?
A: Yes, but it can never be higher than the tax base. It CAN
be zero. The City Council intends for the tax levy to be
zero until needs and priorities are established in
cooperation with Tangent residents.
Q: Who sets the Tax Levy rate?
A: It is set by a vote of the City Council based on
recommendations of the Budget Committee. The
budget committee is a group of volunteers appointed by
the Council to review the city’s operations and recommend
a budget for the City Council to adopt for each fiscal year.
Typically, the Budget Committee meets in the Spring, and
the City Council adopts its budget prior to the beginning of
the fiscal year on July 1.
Q: What can a citizen do if dissatisfied with a City
Council Tax Levy vote?
A: The decision CAN be referred to the voters of Tangent by
submitting a referendum petition containing valid
signatures of at least 10% of the registered voters of the
city, (currently 56 valid signatures). The levy can also be
challenged in the Linn County Circuit Court pursuant to
special statutes that pertain to levy challenges.
Q: What is “Local Option”?
A: It is a special purpose, fixed-duration tax levy. It might be
for police protection, for example. It must be voted on and
CAN be over and above the basic tax base limits;
examples of local option levies are listed on the
comparison page. A local option levy does not “place-hold”
for a piece of the tax base “pie”.
The City of Tangent is proposing a plan to put the tax
base of $4.50 per thousand of assessed value.
COMPARATIVE LOCAL TAX BASES
All values are dollars per $1000 of assessed property
value. Schools have separate tax base rules and are NOT
included in this discussion.
Bond levies are to pay off a loan, usually for some physical
improvement, and can vary from year to year. As a result,
the bonds levies paid by the various cities listed below
won’t be known until later in the year.
Albany...................................................... $ 6.3984
Local option....................................... $ 0.95
Brownsville .............................................. $ 6.9597 + Bonds
Halsey...................................................... $ 5.604 Harrisburg................................................. $ 3.1875 + Bonds Idana........................................................ $ 2.5020
Lebanon................................................... $ 5.1364 + Bonds
Lyons........................................................ $ 1.8926
Local Option ..................................... $ 1.0337
Mill City..................................................... $ 4.1578
Millersburg................................................ $ 3.50
Scio.......................................................... $ 4.9057
Sodaville................................................... $ 0.4552
Sweet Home............................................. $ 1.4157 + Bonds
Local Option (pub safety).................. $ 6.40
Local Option (library)......................... $ 0.62
Linn County.............................................. $ 1.2736
Local Option (pub safety).................. $ 2.34
Prepared by Jim Wagner, Tangent City Council, July 24, 2008
TA N G E N T C O M M U N I T Y N E W S L E T T E R
NEW! This year at the Festival
‘Trash Can Joe’ will perform
from 5 to 7 pm
(after ‘Bush Pilots’ and ‘The Brand’)
Tangent Harvest Festival
BBQ Tickets are now available
at the Dixie Tavern and
Crossroads Deli!
And T-Shirts will be
available soon!
go to www.tangentharvestfest.org
for all the details and entry forms
Get together with friends and
neighbors and MAKE A FLOAT
for the parade!
Dig out that old piece of farming
equipment and bring it to the
ANTIQUE FARM EQUIPMENT
EXHIBIT
AUGUST 2008 PA G E 4
SEPT 6th~PARADE FLOATS~FIREMAN’S
BREAKFAST~KIDS TRACTOR PULL~
MUSIC & FOOD~ANTIQUE FARM
EQUIPMENT & CAR CRUISE IN~MORE!
Calendar and Meetings
PLEASE JOIN US at any and all the following listed meetings.
All meetings are public and held at the City Hall—Bass Estate,
unless noted otherwise. All times are subject to change.
Meeting agendas are available at: www.cityoftangent.org.
If you would like to receive agendas by e-mail or regular mail,
please contact City Hall.
ONGOING CITY MEETINGS:
Planning Commission Work Session
Meets on 1st & 3rd THURSDAY each month.
Starts at 7 p.m.
City Council Meeting
Meets on 2nd MONDAY each month.
Work session starts at 6 p.m. Regular meeting starts at 7 p.m.
Drainage Committee Meeting
Meets 2nd WEDNESDAY each month.
From 10 a.m. to Noon
Parks Committee Meeting
Meets THURSDAY, Aug 14th, at 10 a.m.
Tangent Harvest Festival Committee
Meets WEDNESDAY, Aug. 13, at 7 p.m. at the Fire
Department
Other meetings may occur as needed, check the web site.