BrentMillage Request by DPS for 10 Yr / 2 Mil; Approx $2M per Yr; $20M over 10 Yrs
City hall recently asked council to approve a Nov 2025 ballot millage proposal. Wanting city voters to approve 2 mils for 10 yrs (2025-2035) for our public safety dept, DPS. That’s $2.00 per $1,000 taxable value, per yr, for 10 yrs. A home with a $500,000 FMV. A taxable value of $250,000. $2 x $250 = $500 per yr. 10 yrs = $5,000. The amount is large per homeowner.
Council Due Diligence
I respectfully request council, as part of its due diligence, to ask city hall to provide council and the public the information noted below. It will limit comments about not knowing the facts. It will counter claims the vote was rushed (ramrodded) through. It will inform voters sitting on the fence. It will increase voter turnout. It will give the vote credibility. It will make the vote community based. Ten years is a long time. Two mils is big money ($20M). City hall needs voters to vote. This information will help everybody.
Trust but Verify
Like many, I prefer we err on the side of over-protecting the public, not skimp. We can’t put a $$ value on life and home safety. We trust our city leaders to serve us and protect us. To tell us when they need more money to do it adequately. Also, like many, I respect our current city manager and her staff. When she cries “uncle” we should listen. We can’t take this public safety millage request lightly. The questions and comments below, and information requested, are not to oppose, or even challenge, the need for the millage. Instead, they are to encourage city hall to go the extra mile to engage the public and get voters on board. More information is always the better path to success.
Messaging is Key
Nov 2025 is almost upon us. About 6 months. Some will argue not enough time. Messaging is critical. Some voters won’t support a DPS millage no matter what. Some voters will support it without question. And, some voters are on the fence. They will vote for (or against) depending on the messaging. In an off-cycle election turnout is dreadfully low. The public is apathetic. The “fence” voters are the key ones. The messaging to them will carry the day. Good messaging will approve it. Bad messaging will defeat it.
Townhalls. This is a perfect topic for town halls. The more the better.
Voter Surveys. City hall uses surveys. Asking the right questions, and having open-ended questions, is the key.
Open House & Public Tours. Council members toured the DPS building and said it was eye opening. Convinced them DPS needed new money. Give voters a tour, too. Show us the ugly nooks and crannies. Make us sit in the beat-up trucks. Tell us what staff lacks for their jobs. Point out what is wrong and why. Explain how new money will help fix the problems. Don’t hold anything back. It’s better to be embarrassed by showing us how bad it really is, than to lose the millage vote by sparing us the shame.
AI Videos. City hall made a Chinook Pier slideshow using AI voice over. This time do AI videos instead. Keep them 1 or 2 mins each; not a long compilation. For example, if you need a decontamination area for firefighters, do a 1 min video on only that. Same with crumbling footings in the building foundation; 1 min. Training space; 1 min. Poor ventilation; 1 min. Use of the millage $$; 1 min. Etc. Short, bite-sized videos that explain, not overwhelm. Write a short narrative for each, and AI voice-over each of them. Low budget, simple, quick. Take the videos with a cell phone. City hall already has AI voice software.
City Hall Blog. We’ve asked for this before to no avail. Why the city feels it’s too risky to host a blog for important topics is puzzling. Let the public weigh in with both their questions and answers, and see each other’s. Our city’s Q&A model currently holds all the cards; only the city knows what people think and say. It controls the narrative, thus the information. The public doesn’t like that. It’s why they don’t attend town halls, take surveys, or share their thoughts. It’s a one-way street. All give and no get. The public bristles at that. They feel manipulated. City hall should try to see the value in promoting two-way, instead of one-way, conversation. The public would be more engaged. The community would be better served. Surprise us – open a two-way dialog (a blog) on the millage topic.
The Public is Asking these Questions Already
The public is already asking questions about the proposed millage, only a few days into it. There will be many more between now and Nov. Addressing these is a good start. Keeping city hall’s eyes peeled and its ear to the ground will find others to answer, too.
Why does the DPS need a New $2M/yr on top of its Current $6.6M/yr? A 13% Increase.
City hall says our demand for public safety (fire, police, EMS) has outpaced our spending on it. We’ve stitched the dept together for years. It has caught up with us. The DPS has reached its tipping point. It has fallen behind in buildings, equipment, and staffing. It’s come time to pay the piper.
Our city gets about 15 mils of our total tax millage, or $15M. DPS gets 44% of that. Roughly $6.6M (44% of $15M). A percent on par (or a bit lower) with peer communities. Another 2 mils = approx. $2M a yr ($20M for 10 yrs) of new money to the city, albeit earmarked for DPS.
Why doesn’t the City’s Skyrocketing Real Estate Market Values and New Housing Construction bring in enough New Money to Meet our DPS’s Growing Service Needs?
City hall says expanded services and new housing in the city are causing much of the stress on the DPS. But, that argument cuts both ways. Over 500 new homes and double-digit market value hikes in recent years brings in a lot of new tax dollars to the city. 500 new homes at $500,000 FMV each brings an extra tax base of $250M to the city. A millage rate of 15 mils on 50% of that FMV earns the city an additional $3.75M revenue to work with each year. If 44% of it went to the DPS, that’s over $1.5M right there. $15M over ten years. Just shy of the $20M it’s asking for in the millage. How can all that new tax money flowing into the city not more than cover any DPS “service stretching” it faces?
Is the DPS Millage Request just a Straw Man to get More Money into the City’s Coffers?
If our DPS already gets $6.6M a yr, a new $2M per yr is a 13% increase in its annual funding. IF the DPS millage passes, will some of the $6.6M (the 44%) the DPS currently pulls from our general fund go back into the general fund? How much will the DPS “net” from the new 2 mils? If indeed the DPS loses some of its current 44% of the city’s budget, how much and why? And where will the lost funds be re-allocated and why? Can the city guarantee to the public that the DPS will continue to get its 44% of the general fund each year for the next 10 yrs, PLUS also get all the $2M in funds from the millage? Is it the new millage money PLUS all the 44% of the GF? Or, is it the new millage MINUS some of the 44% of the GF? Which is it and why?
It would be helpful for city hall to clarify and spell this out. Otherwise, some voters will think the worst. A bunch of smoke and mirrors. Just another way for the city to dig deeper into our pockets. Using the DPS as a straw man for new money to the city with no accountability to the public. That view left unanswered will torpedo a millage request.
Uses of the $20M Millage Money
Some voters won’t support a millage request no matter what. Even voters who will want to be well informed when they enter the voting booth. This is big money. It’s for a long time. It’s for an important city service. Transparency is important. Detailed answers to these questions will help the public turn out and vote with knowledge and conviction.
- New Money vs Current Budget Allocations to DPS. The cost of some DPS upgrades is already in the city’s 2024 budget. How much is that? What is it earmarked for? If the DPS gets a new millage, will those general funds previously earmarked for the DPS be returned to the general fund and reallocated elsewhere? If so, how much, where, and why?
- Staffing Needs. Staffing is one of three reasons for the millage request. If it passes what % of the new money will be used on staffing each of the 10 yrs? If it doesn’t pass, how will staffing be impacted each of the 10 yrs?
- Equipment Needs. Equipment is one of three reasons for the millage request. If it passes what % of the new money will be used on equipment each of the 10 yrs? If it doesn’t pass, how will equipment be impacted each of the 10 yrs?
- Facility Needs. Facilities are one of three reasons for the millage request. If it passes what % of the new money will be used on facilities each of the 10 yrs? If it doesn’t pass, how will facilities be impacted each of the 10 yrs?
Is Washington Ave Really the Best Location for our DPS?
Our current DPS building dates back more than 80 yrs. It’s a money pit. City hall says the foundation is crumbling. The HVAC system is antiquated and inefficient. The building is a series of add-ons and refits. It’s likely the whole building is nearly 100% functionally obsolete. It has a history of patches and band aides. Are we throwing good money after bad with a new millage? Are we trying to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear? Perfume a pig? Besides the building itself, the location is hard for big, long firetrucks and EMS vehicles to maneuver in and out, along narrow, crowded city streets. Is a firehouse on the 500 block of Washington Ave really the highest and best use of that property? Sell high and build cheap elsewhere? Are we trapped in a “we’ve always done it this way” mind set? Our city has grown to the East and South over the last 80 years. Have we considered where our DPS facilities might be better located, strategically? Jackson Ave? Beacon Blvd? This is the time to look at the bigger picture and plan for the next 80 years instead of stuck in the last. Have we stepped back and rethought this? The public wants to know given the high price tag of a DPS millage. We must take the long view and be wise with our money.
It’s good our DPS has boldly told us what it can and cannot do with its current budget. Nobody wants our safety compromised. Nobody likes to hear new taxes. City leaders need to help the public decide wisely what to do about both. Thank you. Brent Clark
