Next Tuesday, March 5, rural Greene County voters – those who do not live in an incorporated city in the county – are being asked to approve changing how the county’s share of revenue from the Local Option Sales and Service Tax (LOSST) is spent.
Approving the change will not change rural taxpayers’ property tax bills, but it will allow for a much-needed update of the HVAC system at the county courthouse.
County auditor Billie Jo Hoskins and county engineer Wade Weiss explain it like this:
The LOSST is collected everywhere in the county. The 1-cent sales tax is collected by the state and then re-allocated to cities and counties using a complex formula.
Each city has designated how their share of revenue will be used, with Dana, Grand Junction, Paton and Rippey all using it for property tax relief. Scranton has designated percentages for various uses, and Jefferson has designated 100 percent of it for infrastructure purposes.
The revenue purpose statement adopted by rural taxpayers is that LOSST revenue should be used “100 percent for rural property tax relief, and any other lawful purpose of the county.”
The change being requested from rural taxpayers is to strike “100 percent for rural property tax relief”, leaving the statement at simply, “100 percent for any lawful purpose.”
Hoskins and Weiss are adamant that the rural levy (a levy paid only by rural property owners) will not increase as a result of the change in the purpose statement.
The county receives about $550,000 in LOSST revenue each year. Of that, $360,000 is allocated to the secondary roads department to maintain the county’s rural roads. Another $45,000 is used each year to purchase a vehicle for the sheriff’s office. Without LOSST revenue, the rural levy would be higher in order to cover those expenses. That’s the property tax relief committed to in the revenue purpose statement.
Use of the remaining $145,000 in LOSST revenue is undesignated, except by the blanket “any other lawful use.”
That amount is enough to cover payment on a general obligation bond that would allow the county finally to do a long overdue upgrade of the HVAC system at the courthouse.
Total cost of the HVAC project is $3.4 million. The county supervisors plan to use $1.8 million received in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for the project. ARPA funds have already been used for project design.
The $145,000 in undesignated LOSST revenue is enough to cover payments on $1.2 to $1.5 million in general obligation bonds to allow the HVAC project to be completed. (The county has, over the years, accumulated about $450,000 in a LOSST carryover fund. That can also be used on the project.)
A compelling issue is that the remaining ARPA funds must be obligated by the end of this year, and the funds must spent by Dec. 31, 2026. Otherwise, they must be returned to the federal government.
The county’s bond attorney has advised that “100 percent for rural property tax relief” needs to be removed from the LOSST revenue purpose statement to assure sale of the general obligation bond.
Changing the revenue purpose statement will not impact rural taxpayers’ property tax bill because, according to Hoskins and Weiss, the county supervisors have no intention of eliminating the secondary roads and sheriff’s office allocations from LOSST revenue.
Due to state requirements for scheduling elections, this is the only time this issue can be on a ballot to meet the Dec. 31 deadline for obligating use of ARPA funds. If the ballot question fails, the courthouse HVAC project will become “H” only. The 1970s boiler will be replaced, but no other work will be done on the ventilation system.
Polling locations are the same as General Election polling locations:
Central Precinct – Clover Hall Fairgrounds in Jefferson; East Precinct – St. Brigid Parish Center in Grand Junction; North Precinct – Churdan library; and West Precinct – Scranton Community Center.
In-person absentee voting will end Monday, March 4. Absentee voting will be in the auditor’s office during their regular business hours 8 am to 4:30 pm.
