Answer: instead of charging property taxes, charge a fee on the water bill.
Winfield has a real problem. They rely on the Lake County Sheriff to patrol the town, but the Sheriff doesn't want to do it for "free" anymore. He wants to charge the town for the service.
Because of the tax caps, Winfield can't just jack up property taxes to pay for the service. Winfield has calculated that they have about $80k available under the tax caps, not nearly enough to pay off the Sheriff.
What to do?
It turns out that Dyer has found the answer: hire police under the auspices of "Homeland Security" to "protect" the water system, and then charge a fee on everyone's water bill.
Winfield uses the same attorney that Dyer does. Winfield is investigating if they can do this too.
I got all this from a guy that's on the Winfield Sewer Board.
Keep in mind that property taxes are deductible, water bills are not. On the other hand, having to pay a certain amount every month may be more... motivational... than a twice yearly bill. It's certainly easier to see what you're being charged on a water bill than a property tax bill, with all the assessment, credits, abatements, etc. issues.
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1 comments:
wow great digging Buzz, I had not heard of that trick so far, and I work with some of those communities
Tax deductibility should be discounted since deductions in general need to go away in my opinion. But this is a neat way to blow out from under the tax caps ... another reason I'd propose that they be further reduced when the economy bounces back in favor of another increase in sales taxes.
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