MEEKS BAY, Calif. — Not only did a new tax recently pass for Meeks Bay property owners, it did so by a whopping margin.Property owners voted Aug. 10 by nearly a 2-to-1 spread to adopt a $195 benefit assessment on each parcel of land in the West Shore community.
In the face of California and El Dorado County budget cuts to the Meeks Bay Fire Protection District, the district asked property owners to help them shore up an oncoming deficit.
The cuts are estimated at $315,000 from El Dorado County, and the state may or may not borrow from the district's property taxes as it has with other small jurisdictions throughout the state.
“In order to compensate for those losses and maintain our services we asked the public to help us augment that cost,” said Ed Miller, a 27-year member of the district's board of directors.
Of 2,000 mail-in ballots which went out to the public, 900 were returned, and 68 percent of those who voted said yes to the increase.
A benefit assessment levels an equal tax — in this case $195, paid once annually — per parcel of property, meaning some homeowners were allowed more than one vote if they owned multiple properties.
The revenues (estimated at about $390,000) will help to pay for the district's staff of professional firefighters, which includes Chief John Pang, two lieutenants, one firefighter and seasonal personnel.
“The community was tremendously supportive of this,” Miller said. He said he was surprised at the voting turnout of 45 percent, especially since the area boasts only 640 registered voters — 200 of which voted in November's national general election.
Many are second homeowners and maintain voter registration elsewhere in California and the nation.
Miller said a consulting group inquired how the district got homeowners to vote for a tax increase in strained economic times.
“We worked very hard to get the information out on this,” Miller said.
The fire district provided information at its annual July 4 pancake breakfast, in addition to its summer newsletter and public information displays at the fire station. Representatives of the district spoke to various homeowners associations to get them on board.
“The thing I tell them is we do public outreach 12 months a year,” Miller said. “If we ask for money it's only because we really need it.”
The full assessment, which is charged annually, doesn't kick in until 2010. This year the district will charge $85 per parcel since federal and county funds haven't yet dried up.
