Local option sales tax sees opposition
By Melissa Brownrigg
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mbrownrigg@osceolaiowa.com
MURRAY- Some Murray residents want out of their town's 28E agreement with the county if it means they wouldn't be financially responsible for a proposed reservoir.
This option was brought up by perturbed residents at a meeting held Oct. 15 to discuss voting for a 1 percent local option sales tax.
Murray council members were in opposition to withdrawing from the agreement, saying it would be too costly.
They told the 30 concerned community members, the meeting wasn't about whether or not they wanted the lake, but how Murray and the unincorporated areas of Clarke County will pay for their portion.
These two areas voted against the tax in 2007 and are now being asked to vote again on Nov. 3.
Passing it would mean 1 percent of their sales tax would go towards the construction, but not the maintenance of the lake. Murray councilman Scott Busick said the maintenance costs would be paid for by water sales. The tax could raise anywhere from $60,000 to $68,000 a year.
Busick said the measure Osceola passed in 2007 does include paying for upkeep of the lake.
Many were thankful the measure didn't include the cost of maintenance, but were against having the tax pay for land acquisition.
One Clarke County resident said she will not vote for the tax because of this.
"I'm going to vote no because I can't live with the thought that I could possibly be taking someone's land," she said. "I wish you had taken that part out. So, I will pay the [higher] property taxes. I can't vote for it, I can't."
Woodburn voted to not have their 1 percent tax fund land acquisition in 2008.
Some Murray and Clarke County residents at the meeting also wanted out of their 28E agreement because they felt Osceola residents should be responsible for financing the lake and not the whole county.
"This is your lake, we don't want to pay for your lake," Clarke County resident Mark Johnson said. "This shouldn't be Murray's problem. It never should've been a county issue. It should've stayed an Osceola issue, but you crammed it down our throat and now we have to figure it out. I think we need to stand up and say no."
Johnson said he thinks a scare tactic is being used to pass the measure.
"The scare tactic is your property taxes will go up," he said. "Where is your commitment that if we do vote for the 1 percent tax that they won't go up?"
Busick said Murray will be responsible for its "fair share" one way or another and raising property taxes is an option – something he doesn't want to do.
"We're looking at what we can do here," said Buisick. "We would have to raise the property taxes to pay for our share, but we're trying to hold the line to keep them from going up."
Murray council told the residents passing the 1 percent tax would be cheaper, but couldn't guarantee that the property taxes wouldn't go up even if the tax passed.
Busick said Clarke County Supervisors could raise property taxes in one part of the county and not in other parts.
Johnson thought this wasn't fair.
"Aren't we getting double-dipped?" Johnson asked.
Johnson said many people shop in Osceola and Murray and would see an increase on their water bill and property taxes.
"We're paying twice in a sense," he said. "What we're doing here is taxing ourselves some more."
Busick said passing the tax could fulfill the town's financial responsibility for the lake.
"If we commit to the 1 percent tax, that's all they can ask from us," he said. "From the town's standpoint, that puts a cap on what they can ask for."
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