On Tuesday evening, Oct. 13, Buena Vista’s trustees will vote on a resolution in support of Amendment B.
The proposed amendment seeks to repeal the Gallagher Amendment, which currently requires residential and commercial property tax revenues to make up the same portion of total statewide property taxes as when it was adopted in 1982 – a ratio that doesn’t change. That amendment required that the non-residential rate be set at 29 percent.
This complex requirement disproportionately affects rural counties. It caps the amount provided by residential properties at 45 percent, even though residential property values have soared since 1982, at a rate far faster than commercial. Since commercial can’t be greater than 29 percent of the total, this has created an artificial situation in which taxable values do not match actual property values. More and more the taxes that support government services such as fire and police are being born by non-residential property – which hits small businesses.
In other action, the board will vote on adopting a revised intergovernmental agreement (IGA) for the Chaffee County Multijurisdictional Housing Authority. The Buena Vista board approved a resolution for the IGA on Sept. 22. However, Poncha Springs trustees decided Sept. 28 to not participate in the Authority.
As previously reported in the Ark Valley Voice, the Chaffee Board of County Commissioners and Salida City Council have approved the amended IGA for the Authority. There will be a signing ceremony in Thonhoff Park in Salida at noon Thursday, Oct. 15.
The next step will be to select the MJHA board. The board will consist of three members appointed by the county commissioners, two board members from Buena Vista, two board members from Salida, and two board members representing the community at large.
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