College Administration to ask for tax rate increase; funds needed to mostly  support $111 million dollar construction projects on West side of County

The Community College administration made it clear at the March 3 meeting that it intends to ask the  College Governing Board to approve a property tax rate increase this year. Vice President Clint Ewell suggested that the increase under the law could be as much as ten percent. However, he indicated that the administration will be asking for a 2% increase.

The increase in property taxes is justified by College administrators  as needed to support the $111 million dollar ten-year expansion and renovation projects on the West side of the County. According to press reports, the College already believes it has $67 million in existing revenue toward the goal of $111 million. But it needs to fill the $46 million short-fall. 

The tax increase follows the 3% student tuition and fees increase already approved by the Governing Board in a 3-2 vote at the March meeting.

Voters are essentially helpless to prevent the tax increase.  There will be a public meeting just prior to the Board vote in May.  However, because of work schedules and other commitments, those meetings have in the past been sparsely attended and opposition to the past tax increases ignored.

The Governing Board will receive more information about the proposed tax rate increase at the April meeting and will vote the request up or down in May. A short video clip of the tax rate statements made by Vice President Ewell will be posted here shortly.

Annual property taxes from Verde Valley provide $5 million or more excess revenue to Prescott

Once the Community College revealed the total operating expenses associated with the Verde Campus and the Sedona Center,  which it set at a total of $7 million, it became clear that several millions of dollars in excess property tax revenue existed.  This surplus came to about $5,456,000 in 2012.

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In addition to the excess revenue collected every year from the Verde Valley, Prescott receives all of the millions of dollars in County property tax revenue from all of the other four County districts, all student tuition, which is from $10 to $12 million dollars, and all the money from the State of Arizona. It also applies most of the grant money it receives to the Prescott side of the County.