Are you aware of the hidden taxation within your City of Yoakum utility bill? The City of Yoakum does not bring in enough revenue from taxes (sales & property), permits, fees & other revenue to support the citys general fund. The citys general fund is the source of funding for all city related expenses except utilities & the airport. The citys Fiscal Year 2014 budget has approximately 2.3 million dollars being moved from the citys utility fund and transferred to the citys general fund. What this means is that approximately 20% to 22% of your monthly City of Yoakum utility bill is used to support the citys general fund. Recently, the City Council approved a request from the City Manager to fund an auditors study to determine if an additional utility rate increase is warranted. This hidden tax issue within the utility bills must be resolved before the utility rates become a burden to the utility customers of Yoakum. I would propose that the utility bill rates be modified to the actual rate that is required to support the utility fund, then if the city needs additional funding to support the general fund to have that portion of the utility bill listed as a city franchise tax. This will stop the taxation in the city utility bills from being hidden. Once we have identified the city franchise tax on the utility bills, I believe that the city must find ways stop the increase of the utility franchise tax and then take steps to reduce that franchise tax to less than 10% and then pass an ordinance capping that utility franchise tax at 10% Here are some possible proposals to resolve the utility franchise tax issue: 1. Increase the City of Yoakum property tax rate. (the current rate is approx. 60% to 80% lower than neighboring cities.) 2. Invite larger retail businesses to do business in Yoakum. (this would increase sales tax revenues as many citizens of Yoakum shop at these larger retail establisments in neighboring cities.) 3. Annexation of nearby areas. (this option would increase property tax revenues, yet utility fund costs would increase in the short-term if city utility services are not already provided in these areas.) 4. Trim expenditures from the citys general fund. (look closely at the budgeted items in the city’s general fund for expenditure reductions while avoiding impact to essential city services.) These proposals and any other reasonable proposals should be studied as ways to return the citys utility bills to within 10% of actual utility fund expenses. David A. Aselin
Posted on: Fri, 07 Mar 2014 11:17:29 +0000
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