Rattled by the roadways?
Where do you think the worst potholes in Lebanon are? Tell us at www.western-star.com
LEBANON — Council is asking voters for help to shore up its budget and provide some much needed relief to the city’s ailing streets.
“Lebanon has problems with its infrastructure,” said councilman Ben Cole. “We can’t wait on the state or federal government to help us.”
Council approved the placement of a 5-year, 2-mill property tax levy on the May 4 ballot at its meeting Tuesday, Jan. 26. The levy would generate approximately $830,000 annually for road maintenance. The owner of a house with an assessed value of $150,000 would pay approximately $92 a year, according to city manager Pat Clements.
The city’s general fund, which pays for police, courts and administrative aspects of government as well as funds capital improvement projects, like road work, is projected to be in deficit by 2011.
To stave off this crisis, the city leaders slashed $600,000 in planned road work projects last May. Clements said without a cash influx, another $330,000 worth of projects will get the ax, leaving several city streets pocked marked with potholes and criss-crossing fissures that signify serious repair needs.
The mood among council members was dour as they approved the placement of the levy by a 5-1 vote.
Councilman Jeff Monroe voted against the levy’s placement, saying the economy was too bad to ask more out of voters.
“I feel there will be a resounding ‘no,’” Monroe said. “I understand the roads are bad but I think right now we’ll just have to bare it.”
Monroe said he did not think cutting into the capital improvement fund was a beneficial long-term solution, but needed to be done out of necessity in the short term.
Councilman Matt Rodriguez said the city would have to pay up to four times as much in repairs in the future if they ignored road problems now.
Jeff Oliver, a Lebanon resident, spoke out against the levy, saying he already paid too much in property taxes, which he said had doubled in the past decade.
“I don’t know how I’ll afford to live in Lebanon (if taxes go up),” Oliver said. “Sooner or later, somebody has to say no to taxes.”
Clements has at times suggested the city do away with its income tax credit, which means people who live in Lebanon and work elsewhere do not have to pay the city’s one percent income tax. Council has the right to halt the credit without a vote by voters. Several members of council defended the property tax as more democratic since it would be decided by voters.
“We’ve reached a point where if you need something done in a community, the community will have to pay for it themselves,” Cole said. “Right now, we’re letting them decide that yes it needs to be done and we’re going to have to do it ourselves.”
Lebanon last put a road levy on the ballot in November 2008, when 57 percent voted against it.
About the Author