While the Metro Council this evening will consider placing a proposed tax renewal for the St. George Fire Department on the May 2 ballot, it also will introduce a measure to place a tax renewal for the Downtown Development District on the Oct. 24 ballot.
DDD Executive Director Davis Rhorer says he doesn’t anticipate the issue to run up against any objection from the council, which at its last meeting balked at both Mayor Kip Holden’s $335 million bond proposal and the St. George tax proposal.
“We go to voters every five years on this. I’ve done this six times before and I’ve gotten renewal every time,” Rhorer says. “It’s passed with about 80% of the vote every time.”
Only properties within the boundaries of the DDD pay the 10-mill property tax, with some exemptions for government properties and others. The tax generates roughly $497,650 annually for the DDD. It’s been at 10 mills ever since it initially was approved by voters in 1987.
The Metro Council only is introducing the DDD tax renewal proposal—which would be for five years beginning in 2017—at today’s meeting, which means its members likely won’t vote on whether to place the issue on the Oct. 24 ballot until its next meeting Feb. 11. However, the council is expected to vote this evening on the St. George Fire Department’s redrafted proposal.
At its Jan. 14 meeting, the council rejected placing on the May 2 ballot a measure to raise the department’s current 1.25-mill property tax to 3.25-mills for 20 years. The department since has reworked its proposal, and now is asking the council to place two separate items on the ballot: a 10-year renewal of the current 1.25-mill tax and a new 2-mill tax for 10 years.
The council convenes at 4 p.m. on the third floor of City Hall, 222 St. Louis St. See the full agenda.
—Steve Sanoski
