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Columbia County commissioners weigh creation of law-enforcement MSTU to make funding more transparent
Summary
County attorneys briefed commissioners on municipal service taxing units (MSTUs) as a tool to fund law enforcement in specific areas. Commissioners directed staff to begin municipal outreach and preliminary studies, with a possible implementation timeline tied to statutory deadlines.
Columbia County commissioners heard an extended legal briefing and preliminary policy discussion on municipal service taxing units — an option the county could use to levy a targeted ad valorem tax that funds specific municipal services such as law enforcement.
The board heard from county counsel’s outside attorneys Heather and Sonosha of the law firm Neighbors, Giblin & Nickerson, who explained the statutory and constitutional limits on local taxation and why an MSTU is the legal pathway for taxing to fund general law enforcement rather than a property “special assessment” tied to property benefit. “An MSTU is a tax-equity tool available to a Board of County Commissioners,” Heather said, adding that MSTUs can be levied on all or a portion of incorporated or…
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