Tivoli restarts tax-for-city-services talk

Annexing development would strain police, firefighter force

By ADAM ASHTON
aashton@modbee.com

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Reams of plans for a major development in northeast Modesto answer hundreds of questions about how 3,200 new homes would affect the city's resources.

But they don't have an answer for one potential drawback to building more houses -- diluting the city's police and fire ranks by annexing more subdivisions.

The City Council raised that question at two hearings over the past 15 months. One solution offered by a city consultant was to charge the homeowners a Mello-Roos property tax of as much as $647 a year for public safety.

Some cities, including Merced, take that route to make sure new homes don't draw down police resources for older neighborhoods.

That recommendation didn't get into the documents that describe how builders can develop land in the 454-acre Tivoli area north of Sylvan Avenue. However, the plan leaves a window for the council to adopt the tax someday.

Council members remain split on whether it would be appropriate to charge a special tax on new homeowners when other residents aren't charged. They're scheduled to vote Tuesday on approving Tivoli's environmental impact report and its specific plan.

Councilman Garrad Marsh said new homes would spread out police officers and firefighters, making it increasingly difficult for the city to reach its preferred ratio of public safety officers to residents. Modesto is about 100 officers short of that goal.

"There's no way of bringing our police and fire staffing up to where we need to be without charging housing for it," he said. "I want to see housing pay for itself."

Mayor Jim Ridenour countered that a Mello-Roos tax wouldn't address the city's shortage of money for police officers. He favors a citywide solution that would make all residents share in the cost.

He further said a housing tax wouldn't make a difference in the city's current financial difficulties because it's unlikely developers will build homes in the next few years.

"I don't want any one person paying more than they should," he said. "You can put the tax on, but nothing's going to be built until 2011."

Council members last reviewed possible Mello-Roos taxes in August at a Finance Committee meeting. Builders said the taxes were unreasonable in a down market and charged that the city's studies were inadequate because they didn't consider sales taxes new homeowners pay when they shop.

Dave Romano, an engineer who represents Tivoli's developers, said those comments still stand for his industry.

Council members wanted to refine the tax by incorporating a credit for sales taxes.

Modesto's police and fire chiefs say they're interested in following up on the Mello-Roos taxes, especially while they're slashing spending because of a downturn in city revenue. The council in December approved more than $14 million in budget cuts, including a reduction in police and fire employees.

"I just cut $1.9 million from the Fire Department budget," Fire Chief Jim Miguel said. "I'm interested in anything that will help us sustain funding as we grow."

The chiefs have said the Mello-Roos taxes wouldn't provide an immediate jolt to public security, but they could prepare the city for its next building phase.

"I think we are falling behind," Police Chief Roy Wasden said. "We should look at every option."

Bee staff writer Adam Ashton can be reached at aashton@modbee.com or 578-2366.