Document text
- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us December 6, 2005 Talent council will consider water fee hike for park system By Jamie Miller Tidings Correspondent CITY VOTES FOR SURCHARGE At the Nov. 16 meeting, the city council decided the $1 surcharge would be the fairest method of generating funds for Talent’s park system. The citizens of Talent have twice voted down tax levies designed to create park funding. The Talent City Council will consider adding a surcharge to each home's monthly water bill when it meets Wednesday. The possible increase of $1 per housing unit would be used to maintain and operate the city’s parks. The surcharge could be enacted by the Parks Maintenance and Operations Act. If it is passed, the ordinance will become effective on Jan. 1. The total budget for Talent’s park system is set at $127,357 a year. The city funds the park system out of the general city fund. There is no dependable funding for the maintenance of city parks. This leaves the parks fund vulnerable to annual cuts. The Parks Maintenance and Operation Surcharge fee would generate approximately $2,790 per month or $33,480 per year. All of the receipts from the surcharge would be dedicated to the parks system. City Manager Betty Wheeler expects the city will still need to contribute about $30,000 in additional funds to totally cover the operating expenses of maintaining the parks. At the Nov. 16 meeting, the city council decided the $1 surcharge would be the fairest method of generating funds for Talent’s park system. The citizens of Talent have twice voted down tax levies designed to create park funding. Under the Parks Maintenance and Operation Act: • Apartment buildings will be charged according to an assumed 95 percent occupancy rate.• Mobile homes, single family homes, accessory dwelling units, duplexes, and triplexes will be treated as single family dwellings and charged as one unit. • Schools will be exempt to the charge. • Employers will be charged at the rate of one unit per 10 employees. • Motels and hotels will be exempt to the charge. Talent has six public parks. Four of the parks are well developed with benches, trees, restrooms, and playground equipment. Two of the parks are grassy lots adjacent to Wagner Creek. Other matters that will be discussed by the City Council include: • Authorization to join the PERS Rate Pool. The program benefits smaller governments like the city of Talent because it provides stability to the rates of employer issues, such as disabilities. If an out-of-the-ordinary claim is filed in a city participating in the program, the cost can be spread out over the entire pool. Talent did not join the program when it first began in 2001. PERS recently invited Talent to reconsider joining the rate pool before the program’s application deadline of Dec. 31. • Appointment to the Economic Development Committee. Doug Warner, of Ashland, has volunteered to serve on the committee. He is the managing director at the Camelot Theater at 101 Talent Ave., in Talent. His appointment would fill in one of the business slots. • Acceptance of resignations submitted by William Cecil and Carol Malcolm. Both Cecil and Malcolm are members of the Planning Commission. Their resignations will be effective on Jan. 1. In her resignation, Malcolm requested to be reassigned to the Planning Advisory Board. DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Deep Muscle Stimulator Ceramic Piggy Banks FREE Entertainment Guide Women's & Men's Slippers Accelerate Weightloss Products Backpacks Online Pharmacy Vegas Travel Guide Search Engine Optimization Student Loans Hotel & Airline Reservations Hammocks Water Filter Helzberg Diamonds Online Casinos Community Bonus Casino Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Mailing Lists Click Here Advertisement .:Advertisements:. Site Search: RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams