10/21/2013
Why are my taxes so high?
“How did Nampa become the most highly taxed City in Idaho with a population of over 50 thousand?”
Under Mayor Dales leadership taxes have increased more than 50%.
When Tom Dale took office in 2005 the property tax rate was 2.13% or $2,130.00 per 100k of assessed value. He was forced to end Urban Renewal by a vote of the people and by 2007 property tax rate fell 22% to 1.67% or $1,670.00 per 100 k of value, a $460.00 difference. But in 2006 Mayor Tom Dale initiated another Urban Renewal District and today your property tax has risen 50% to 2.51% or $2,510.00, $840.00 higher per 100k of value.
COMPARABLE TAXES FOR NAMPA, BOISE AND MERIDIAN
UNDER TOM DALES LEADERSHIP
2012 TAX RATES PER $100,000.00 OF TAXABLE VALUE OF A RESIDENCE
CITY TAX RATE TAXES
NAMPA 2.505% (AVERAGE URBAN) $2,505.00
BOISE 1.767% (AVERAGE URBAN) $1,767.00
Difference 0.738% ($738.00)
Boise’s taxes would have to be increased by 42% to equal Nampa’s
MERIDIAN 1.5% (AVERAGE) $1,500.00
Difference 1.005% ($1,005.00)
Meridian’s taxes would have to be increased by 66% to equal Nampa’s
COST OF MISMANAGMENT OF NAMPA’S GOVERNMENT
Meridian has a population of only 3.6 thousand less than Nampa but their city management is much more efficient than Nampa’s. The 2013 budgets when compared with their populations show that Nampa’s government under Tom Dale is $370.28 per person higher than that of Meridian. That is $1,110.84 more per family each year.
EFFECT ON BUSINESS AND JOBS IN NAMPA AND CANYON COUNTY
Mayor Dale will tell you that the only way to reduce taxes and cost of his government is to get more business’s to build in Nampa. This is true, but like Obama, Tom Dale is driving away business with his high taxes.
Four examples of commercial property taxes in Boise, Meridian and Nampa
Walmart Super Stores at: (2012 property tax rate)
8300 Overland in Boise estimated ass. value $11.5 million Tax rate 1.94% taxes $222.7 thousand
4051 E Fairview in Meridian est. assessed value $10.7 million Tax rate 1.4% taxes $169.6 thousand
2100 12th Ave. in Nampa est. assessed value $14 million Tax rate 2.33% taxes $336.3 thousand
5875 E. Franklin Rd. in Nampa assessed value $15 million Tax rate 2.33% taxes $349.5 thousand
By the tax rate the Walmart in Meridian pays 49% or $174 thousand less in taxes per year than the $343 thousand per year average of the Walmart stores in Nampa. It is no wonder that Walmart closed the Sam’s Club near the Idaho Center.
This causes business to either raise prices or move away from Nampa taking jobs with them. How many have left in the last 8 years? Micron, Simplot, Armour, SpectecLLC , Micron PC, Conagra, Sam’s Club, etc.
The J.R. Simplot Co. closed its beef slaughter plant in Nampa in 2003 laying off 270. Company officials released a statement saying the decision to shutter the plant was prompted by the economics of operating the facility. Micro’s Transform Solar. In June 2011, XL, a beef-processing plant closed, costing the area 500 jobs. It was the second time this plant had closed due to economic conditions. The previous owner was Armour. The fall of 2012 the, J.R. Simplot Co. announced that it would close its Nampa potato-processing plant and lay off 800 people statewide as part of a three-year plan to bolster the company’s competitive position. SpectecLLC 500 employees, Micron PC 700 employees, and
Conagra 500 employees. No manufacturing companies have moved into Nampa during Tom Dale’s tenure.
• THE LARGEST EMPLOYERS THAT ARE LEFT IN NAMPA ARE TAX EXEMPT? OF THE MAJOR EMPLOYERS 4,700 ARE EMPLOYED BY NON-PROFIT OR TAX EXEMPT EMPLOYERS, WHILE THE LARGEST TAX PAYING PRIVATE BUSINESS EMPLOYS ONLY 2,100.
THE EFFECT OF HIGH TAXES AND COST OF GOVERNMENT ON RESIDENTIAL INVESTMENT IN NAMPA
For this comparison on the effect on rental investment, two houses were selected from data available in February 2013, both are recent sales, one from Meridian and one from Nampa. They are approximately the same size, age, style and have similar locations within their communities.
Rents were selected from a cross comparison of rentals available in both communities. Both were 3 bedrooms, 2 bath single level homes with garages with 1,500+- gross living area. When adjusted for cost of acquisition, rent, taxes, etc. The 1,463 square foot house in Meridian showed an annual profit before depreciation of $2,500.00 whereas the Nampa house with 1,502 square feet showed a profit of only $235.12.
THE USE OF URBAN RENEWAL AND EFFECT ON PROPERTY TAXES
An Urban Renewal area is an area wherein the city council and mayor designate all increases in property taxes be paid to an Urban Renewal Agency. As these areas also includes other taxing districts which will now lose those increased taxes to the Urban Renewal District, all of those taxing districts like schools, mosquito, highway, ambulance, County, City, etc. raise their taxes and in some cases also their fees to make up for the loss of those taxes now being paid to the Urban Renewal Agency. Nampa was forced to raise property tax rate by 5% to make up for the loss and has consistently raised fees on water, sewer, and garbage collection. When the taxing districts are forced to raise their rates it raises not only the City taxpayer’s rate, but it also raises the rates for the entire county.
HISTORY OF NAMPA’S URBAN RENEWAL
When Mayor Tom Dale took office in 2004 the existing Urban Renewal District was using $10 million of property tax per year and had collected $81 million dollars over 10 years. Over $60 million of these tax dollars were used to build the Idaho and the Equestrian Center complex which now costs over $1million a year to support. This use of Urban Renewal had raised Nampa’s property tax to 2.13% and resulted in a tax rate that was $357.00 per $100 thousand of assessed value or 17% higher than property tax would have been without the use of urban renewal. (It also affected all of Canyon County where taxes were $54.57 higher per $100 thousand of assessed value because of Nampa’s Urban Renewal)
When urban renewal was voted out by the people and ended, taxes fell from 2.13% to 1.67% in 2007, 21.6% below their 2004 level. Mayor Dale then complained that the goals of the urban renewal had not been met. The reconstruction of Garrity Blvd. had been included, but they had spent all of the taxes on the Idaho Center. Mayor Dale was told that the Nampa Tax Payers would support a bond to finish Garrity Blvd. if he would include Kings Corner Overpass, but he was only interested in Garrity and underground infrastructure in northwest Nampa where the Treasure Valley Market Place now exists. We ( the group that forced the vote which killed the first Urban Renewal) insisted on Kings Corner and he finally conceded the issue. A General Obligation Bond to re-construct Garrity Blvd, build King’s Corner and install the underground infrastructure in Northwest Nampa was put before the people and passed with over a 2/3 majority.
Then in 2006 Mayor Dale, with the City Council re-created a New Urban Renewal District which included the New, Treasure Valley Market Place. They did this in order to take all of the property tax from the Treasure Valley Market Place for the new urban renewal agency with which they purposed building the new police station (Safety Building) and the proposed library without voter approval.
When Tom Dale took office in 2005 the property tax rate was 2.13% or $2,130.00 per 100k of assessed value. He was forced him to end urban renewal by an advisory vote and by 2007 property tax rate fell 22% to 1.67% or $1,670.00 per 100 k of value, a $460.00 difference which included the General Obligation Bond that built Kings Corner. Then in 2006 Tom Dale initiated another Urban Renewal and today your property tax is up 50% at 2.51% or $2,510.00, $840.00 per 100k of assessed value. Their countering argument that property values fell which required an increase in the levy is vacuous, as from 2007 to 2013 the property value has declined by 25%, but Mayor Dale’s taxes are up by 50%.
Tax Rates for Nampa Idaho
WHY CITIES PREFER URBAN RENEWAL OVER GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS.
Property taxes include not only a city or county, but also the overlying other taxing districts. When a city uses a General Obligation Bond, the Bond it is paid from the Cities property tax only, which is less than the levy rate for all of the taxing districts included within the city. However, when the City uses Urban Renewal, the taxes paid to the Urban Renewal Agency include taxes from all of the taxing districts within the urban renewal area.
Example: The City of Nampa will receive $31,316,719.00 from 2013 property taxes. The 2013 General Obligation Bond payment for Garrity, King’s Corner Overpass and the underground infrastructure that improved the Treasure Valley Market Place allowing its construction, comes from this property tax and is $2,789,756.00, or 8.9% of the property tax receipts for 2013. Nampa’s levy rate is .0115812030 or 1.16%.
Whereas; The North Nampa Development Corporation which is Nampa’s Urban Renewal Agency not only Nampa’s Property tax from the district, but also all of the taxing districts within the delineated area of the Urban Renewal District which has a combined total levy rate of .0248791840 or 2.49%.
So the amount of tax paid to the NDC is 2.51 times greater than the amount would be if paid by the cities property tax increment only.
Using Urban Renewal takes taxes from all of the taxing districts. To offset this loss, all of the taxing districts increase their levy rates or fees which cause an increase in taxes for everyone in the County.
The NDC 2013 Increment value $155,263,664.00 X 2.49 = $3.87 million for 2013. Bond for Police/Safety Bldg. = $1,006,254.00. A $2.86 million surplus for a slush fund.
The total Nampa city property taxes for 2013 were $31,316,719.00. The property taxes paid to the NDC was $3,870,000.00 or 12.4% of the total tax receipts received by the city.
When an Urban Renewal District is approved by an ordinance the area included in that designated district is assessed at its value as of the date of the ordinance. This assessed amount becomes the value that determines the taxes paid to the taxing districts within that area for the life of the Urban Renewal Agency, now 24 years from the date of establishment. Each year the Assessor establishes the value of the new Urban Renewal Area and any taxes from appreciation in value or new construction are then paid to the Urban Renewal Agency. The taxing districts never receive an increase within an urban renewal area for the entire 24 year life of the Urban Renewal District.
Example: A home valued at $60 thousand in 1990 is located within an urban renewal area which is also established in 1990. The taxes paid to the taxing districts the value of this home remain at $60 thousand for the life of the agency. During the 24 year life of the Urban Renewal District the home would have now reached a value of $120,000.00+- with the taxes on the $60,000.00 increase being paid to the Urban Renewal District.
