Huachuca City council directs staff to begin 'truth in taxation' public notices

Council members discussed whether to proceed with the 'truth in taxation' public-notice process as part of the town’s budget planning. Town Manager Suzanne Harvey and staff explained that initiating the process now would add notice steps and hearings but not change the calendar materially; any final decision on a tax rate would be made later in the budget process.

Harvey and staff provided three illustrative scenarios for the property-tax levy: a neutral-rate scenario yielding $17,765; a midpoint illustration yielding about $128,000; and a maximum-illustration yielding about $139,000. Staff offered an example for a $100,000 home: the midpoint increase would be roughly $12 per year and the maximum roughly $24 per year. "If the Council were to choose a rate between the the maximum allowable somewhere in the middle, the total revenue would be 128,000," staff noted during the presentation.

Councilmembers emphasized that this vote only authorizes staff to prepare and publish required notices and to hold any required hearings; no new levy was set at the meeting. Johann Wallace moved and Debra Trate seconded the motion to begin the public-notice process; the motion passed unanimously.