As the city of Evans faces an approaching budget deficit, recent polls indicate the majority of the city’s residents are not in favor of the city’s solution to raise property taxes, dramatically.
Without any major budget changes, Evans’s current expenses would outpace its revenue by 2028, resulting in major cuts to staff and services the city can provide. According to the city, 59% of the city’s revenue is generated by sales tax, which isn’t sustainable, as any economic downturn could majorly disrupt city finances.
In response to this growing concern, the city has proposed a ballot measure that would raise the mill levy by 11.96 mills to 15.49 mills from its current 3.53 mills. If passed, property taxes in Evans would be raised to $15.49 for every $1,000 of assessed home value.
On Wednesday, the Evans city council met to review recent polling data collected by Magellan Strategies, which was contracted to perform this survey in March. The data indicated only 46% of the 379 voters surveyed would support the tax increase, 39% stated that they would not, and 15% indicated they were undecided.
When asked to provide a reason for their answers, those who voted yes said they did so because they want to invest in essential services and the increase could enhance the quality of life in Evans. However, those who were against the measure expressed a general mistrust of government spending and would rather see the city focus on developing businesses in Evans.
“I understand where they come from when they want to see more businesses, but that goes back to sales tax, and as the economy turns, there’s a decline in sales tax, and there goes that revenue,” mayor Mark Clark said. “It’s great to get those businesses, which we’re all trying to do, but unfortunately, with the economy, our sales tax cannot be relied upon.”
With the poll results in mind, Clark asked Ryan Winger from Magellan Strategies if voters would be more amenable to an increase that is staggered over three years. Winger stated that due to the number of undecided votes, it would be possible to gather the necessary support from voters to get that passed.
“I think an incremental increase is a really good idea,” Winger said. “That way we’re not going from A to Z in one jump.”
While many council members viewed the numbers positively, believing they could turn several undecided votes into yes votes, councilwoman Alicia Johnson wasn’t so sure. Johnson expressed concerns for Evans residents who are already struggling financially, claiming the city didn’t have a tangible reason to burden them with extra costs.
“We’re not providing for the community exactly what we’re going to do and how we’re going to help them with this,” Johnson said. “We really need to consider every single component and really justify an increase if that’s the way the council goes.”
Clark and councilman Christopher Delaney took issue with this viewpoint. According to Delaney, the impending city budget deficit should be enough justification for the tax increase because “in a little under three years, we’re going to have to start cutting what we’re giving them.”
From Clark’s perspective, however, the council needs to view the issue through a lens of what’s best for the whole city and not just the few who this tax increase would severely impact.
“You’re always going to have someone who’s not able to afford it, regardless,” Clark said. “You have to look at what’s best for the majority of the citizens in the community and not just that small portion.”
Despite Johnson’s concerns, the council asked Magellan to determine how many would favor an incremental mill increase over the next three years to reach 15.96 mills. Clark said he would schedule town halls to hear from residents and hopefully gather more support for the measure by informing voters how much the city needs the additional revenue.
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