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Public Notice |
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In accordance with Arizona Revised Statutes Sec. 9-499.15, the City of Tempe is hereby giving notice of proposed adoptions of, or changes to, City taxes or fees:
The City of Tempe will adopt its final property tax levy for Fiscal Year 2012-13 at a public hearing scheduled to be held on June 28th at 7:30 p.m. at the City Council Chambers, 31 East Fifth Street. The final property tax levy amount may be increased over the approved property tax levy for Fiscal Year 2011-12. Additional information is located under the June 14th and June 28th council dates (see below) or by contacting the City of Tempe Finance and Technology Department at 480-350-8350. |
Tempe plans for continued budget stability
The journey to sustainable, long-term financial health is still a work in progress for Tempe, as shown by current budget planning efforts for the 2012-13 fiscal year, which begins July 1.
Economic recovery is coming to Tempe as predicted, with monthly sales tax revenues improving modestly. Yet the city is carefully planning the next fiscal year and looking several years into the future. Plans revolve around two separate aspects of the budget: operating budgets like the General Fund, Transit Fund, Golf Fund and others that pay for day-to-day operations; and the Capital Improvement Program, which uses secondary property taxes to repay bonds that fund major repair and construction projects.
Operating Budgets
At a scheduled April 26 Issue Review Session, City Manager Charlie Meyer will present the City Council with recommended operating budgets for the 2012-13 fiscal year.
The city plans to cut 3 percent from the General Fund budgets in each of the next three fiscal years (2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15) in anticipation of the July 2014 expiration of the temporary two-tenths of a cent sales tax approved by voters in May 2010. For 2012-13, that 3 percent cut is $5.2 million. It will be made through further reductions in departmental budgets, focusing on improved operating efficiencies, with no anticipated impact to city services.
In the Transit Fund, the 2012-13 fiscal year is the last in a three-year budget-balancing plan to cut $14 million and restore that fund to long-term health.
Capital Improvement Program (CIP)
The 2012-13 fiscal year will be the second year of a property tax policy in Tempe intended to stabilize the total secondary property tax levy by allowing the property tax rate to float over time. The move allows the city to collect a consistent amount of secondary property taxes, while keeping property owners’ tax bills relatively stable.
The funds would go to the city’s Capital Improvement Program (CIP), which pays for new buildings, maintenance of buildings and roads, and many other projects. By law, the secondary tax levy cannot be used to pay operating costs, such as staff salaries, benefits and day-to-day city operations.
In 2012-13, Tempe aims to complete a citywide system of tying any CIP project to a specific asset management plan. If the city needs to replace a roof on a community center, for example, staffers must document how long the new roof will last and plan for its repairs and eventual replacement. This will help to make capital expenditures more predictable.
Tempe’s residential and commercial customers of water, sewer and solid waste/refuse services in Tempe and Guadalupe will notice more stability in their rates in the 2012-13 fiscal year. The city is finishing long-term projects to replace and renew infrastructure in order to comply with federally mandated water quality regulations.