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Perpetuates Deferrals
The county’s general land use taxation ordinance grants tax deferrals, Eastham continued, while ag districts perpetuate those tax deferrals “a long, long time into the future, no matter what the board of supervisors may choose to do.” He said that the local governing body may repeal general use value taxation (whereby qualifying property is taxed at its use value for agricultural, horticultural and forestal production as opposed to worth at fair market value for development). But, Eastham emphasized, if general land use taxation is discontinued, the preferential assessment program will continue in ag districts for the life of those districts.
Last year, he recalled, the preliminary county budget called for a tax rate of 58 cents per $100 of assessed value. “The supervisors worked frantically and managed to bring that down to 42 cents.. .still a 82 percent increase and they managed it by practically freezing the county’s budget,” Eastham said, asking the board members if they will be able to continue to hold spending at that level. “You cannot eat your cake and have it too,” he said, arguing that approval of ag districts will erode the county’s tax base.
He charged that the applicants are seeking appro(Continued
on Page 12)
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