PLEASE READ: City of Tangent Tax Base Fact Sheet

PUBLIC HEARING –

AUGUST 11, 2008 –

CENTRAL ELECTRIC TRAINING CENTER

33309 Highway 99E, Tangent, OR 97389

Q: What is a Property Tax Base?

A: A property tax base is legal permission to collect taxes and

specifies the maximum tax (in dollars per $1000 assessed

property value) that can be collected.

Q: Who sets a Tax Base?

A: A Tangent tax base can only be established by a vote of

the citizens of the City of Tangent.

Q: Can a Tax Base be increased?

A: NO. Under state law, once a tax base is passed, the base

cannot be changed except by voting to change the Oregon

Constitution.

Q: Why a Tax Base now?

A: The total tax base on every piece of property in Oregon

is subject to limitations set out in the Oregon Constitution.

That limitation applies to all tax bases that can be

established by local governments and special districts and

constitutes the “tax pie” used to fund local public

operations.

Currently the City of Tangent is not included in the local

property tax pie. Tangent voters can approve only a small

tax base because the remainder of the pie is already

allocated to other entities. If other entities get there before

we do, there will be NO room left for Tangent!

Q. What are the benefits of a Tax Base?

A: Tangent DOES NOT receive some state money simply

because it has no tax base! But, the adoption of a tax base

is primarily a “place holder” to allow Tangent to receive tax

money at some time in the future; Millersburg did this.

Q: Does passing a Tax Base mean that I will

immediately begin paying taxes to the City?

A: NO. The tax base just allows the city to levy a city property

tax in the future.

Q: What is a Tax Levy?

A: A tax levy is the actual amount to be collected. It is stated

in terms of tax dollars per $1000 dollars of assessed

property value. The levy is established during the

city’s annual budget process, and is based on the city’s

estimates of expenses and projected income during the

following fiscal year.

Q: Can a Tax Levy change?

A: Yes, but it can never be higher than the tax base. It CAN

be zero. The City Council intends for the tax levy to be

zero until needs and priorities are established in

cooperation with Tangent residents.

Q: Who sets the Tax Levy rate?

A: It is set by a vote of the City Council based on

recommendations of the Budget Committee. The

budget committee is a group of volunteers appointed by

the Council to review the city’s operations and recommend

a budget for the City Council to adopt for each fiscal year.

Typically, the Budget Committee meets in the Spring, and

the City Council adopts its budget prior to the beginning of

the fiscal year on July 1.

Q: What can a citizen do if dissatisfied with a City

Council Tax Levy vote?

A: The decision CAN be referred to the voters of Tangent by

submitting a referendum petition containing valid

signatures of at least 10% of the registered voters of the

city, (currently 56 valid signatures). The levy can also be

challenged in the Linn County Circuit Court pursuant to

special statutes that pertain to levy challenges.

Q: What is “Local Option”?

A: It is a special purpose, fixed-duration tax levy. It might be

for police protection, for example. It must be voted on and

CAN be over and above the basic tax base limits;

examples of local option levies are listed on the

comparison page. A local option levy does not “place-hold”

for a piece of the tax base “pie”.