Jeb Bladine: City manager transparent on costs for bonds
Interim McMinnville City Manager Adam Garvin this week provided some welcome candor about taxpayer costs being estimated for McMinnville’s proposed $98.5 million recreation bond measure on the November ballot.
McMinnville voters, said Garvin, “deserve clarity about the incremental cost of the recreation bond.” The 20-year tax rate to pay off the bonds will begin at 95 cents per $1,000 assessed value, he said, “and increase to roughly $1.79 per $1,000 when other bonds roll off. That range is straightforward, transparent, and, in my view, the most useful way for voters to understand the impact.”
Garvin has plenty of experience with communications about local government taxes. He is a former city councilor and council president, current president of the McMinnville Fire District, and now interim city manager while the city searches for a permanent leader. He led an information campaign about creation of the new fire district, learning more about public relations pitfalls when citizens don’t fully understand taxation details.
The interim manager’s transparency is reassuring related to a municipal bonding system that can be confusing and even misleading. Accurate taxation details have been discussed at City Council meetings and reported in the news, but this is the city’s first fully responsive public statement about those costs.
The city tiptoed along a path of “incomplete truth” with its ballot measure explanation: “If this measure is approved, the annual bond tax rate is estimated to increase by $0.95 per $1,000 in assessed value, which results in a total estimated annual bond tax rate of $1.79 per $1,000 for all city general obligation bonds.”
That’s true, so far as it goes. But when two old bond issues are retired, the annual bonded debt tax rate will remain at $1.79 per $1,000 for the recreation bonds alone. Thus, the ballot measure explanatory statement about annual dollar costs for a “median assessed” single-family home is misleading at best.
Voters, while educating themselves about the costs, should also focus on the high value and positive benefit/cost ratio of the proposed development projects
This bonded debt, reduced in cost by one-third from original plans, will build a needed multi-use center serving citizens of all ages with aquatics, fitness, recreation, health and cultural programs. It will renovate and expand programs in the Senior Center, upgrade and improve city parks and playgrounds, and enhance facilities and services at the public library.
These are not simply extraneous amenities. They would become core contributors to the community quality of life that McMinnville has maintained throughout its history.
We can look back at more than a century of important bonding projects that built the city water and light systems; developed city park, library and swim pool facilities; renovated the historic community center, provided public safety and other civic centers; and significantly improved the citywide transportation system.
This is another in a long line of McMinnville community-building projects that will test voters to share in the costs and benefits. It’s important, along the way, to follow City Manager Garvin’s lead in transparent communications.
Jeb Bladine can be reached at jbladine@newsregister.com or 503-687-1223.
Comments