04/10/1978 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mr. Delay felt there might be things that could be done to make the tax proposal better and make it more effective in terms of equity, but ~ he felt that to be true of any tax law. He supported Mr. Obie1s intent and felt those were things that should be looked at. However, just because there may be other ways in which to make the tax a more effective vehicle, he did not feel that was any reason for delaying action this evening. Regarding the cost of housing, he said the new housing in the area is not accessible to low- and moderate-income people anyway. The tax dollars that are not collected from this tax will have to be collected somewhere else, possibly by general revenue sources. Regarding the forcing of growth beyond the city boundaries, he felt the tax law ought to be adopted on a metro-wide basis, but felt again that was no reason to delay Council action this evening. He reiterated he would like to look at ways to make the tax more effective, but thought Council should take this step in the direction of allowing a 35 percent shift in the tax burden with this new tax. Regarding the referendum, Mr. Delay said in speaking to constituents in his community most people are generally supportive of the tax as proposed. A referendum would be expensive and time consuming, and would defer the possibility of this tax being implemented during the peak building season. Mr. Haws moved, seconded by Mr. Delay, to amend the motion, page 1, Section 7.277, Subsection 1a and b, to delete the exemption of religious organizations. Mr. Haws felt that facilities for religious groups were used more than ~ just once a week and to exempt them would be contrary to the policy of ~ separation.of state and church. Vote was taken on the motion, which passed with all Councilors present voting aye except Smith voting no. Mr. Haws moved, seconded by Mr. Bradley, to amend the motion on page 2, Section 7.279, Subsection 3a, to delete the exemption of geographical area lying in the central planning district or officially designated urban renewal or neighborhood improvement area. Mr. Haws felt the tax should be city-wide and felt there was no reason to exclude portions of the city. To have an equitable tax, it should be evenly distributed throughout the city. Mr. Lieuallen was opposed to the amendment as he wanted a chance to debate the issue of exemptions in detail and felt there was not time at this meeting to do that. This amendment would, in effect, cut off that opportunity for discussion of exemptions. He felt there were some strong arguments to grant exemptions. e 4/10/78--7 2.3'+