NorthwestAugust 17, 1993

A public hearing on the proposed 1994 Lewiston city budget will

be continued next Monday night because a truth-in-taxation statement published more than a week ago was inaccurate.

Accurate statements were published Sunday and will be again next week, and are available at city hall.

The council met with Nez Perce County Assessor Daniel J. Anderson at noon Monday, apparently expecting an explanation of how the system works, but instead were told truth in taxation is ''probably one of the biggest misnomers of any law that's come out of Boise in a long time.''

The law requires municipalities to provide taxpayers with information about property valuations and how tax proposals would affect tax bills. But the law doesn't define some of the basic terms it uses, such as ''typical'' when dealing with taxable value as opposed to assessed value, Anderson said.

At Monday's public hearing, three people turned out to oppose the budget as written, including faithful critics James O. McMains and Steve Sabo, and relative newcomer B. Frank Fleming.

Fleming said his property taxes on Country Club Drive have gone up 65 percent since 1989, plus the utility increases. ''When are you going to stop pricing us out of our houses?'' he asked.

Fleming said he is retired. ''I can't charge any more for my services because I don't have any more service to sell,'' he said, arguing against proposed annual 9 percent water increases in addition to sewer and sanitation charges.

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McMains repeated his objections to the present salary policies, the way the city has categorized such items as Social Security and retirement benefits as ''mandated'' expenditures.

He also questioned whether the city can afford to run a golf course and pay for top-of-the-line in such areas as emergency medical services and computer software.

City Manager Janice B. Vassar said the tax levy is going up only .18 of a percent, but opponents pointed out that doesn't include fee increases, such as the 9 percent for water and 12 percent for sewer, plus an equity buy-in policy that will charge people hooking up to the city system for the first time.

The first reading of all three ordinances, intended to begin in the new tax year that starts Oct. 1, were passed on 5-2 votes with H. Manly MacDonald and Shirley McGeoghegan opposing.

McGeoghegan read a lengthy statement outlining her reasons, and said a detailed written version would be available at city hall. In part, she said the city has gotten too far afield from its traditional services of fire, police, streets, water, sewer and sanitation and the council tends to look upon itself as a representative of staff instead of city residents.

Salaries and benefits are among the highest in the state, compensatory time and overtime are an unfunded liability that at some point could break the budget, and the council is choosing to go to expensive bond levies for capital improvements instead of making tough decisions and including them in the budget, she said.

The blame doesn't lie with the staff, she emphasized, but with the council.

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