Santa Monica property owners may feel a pinch in their pockets when they open their tax bill.
The city council approved setting the property tax rate for paying off voter-approved bonds for fixing up the city’s libraries at $23.41 per $100,000 value of their property.
It’s an increase of $19.47 from last year because the city issued $25 million additional bonds in August.
“When voters approved issuance of those bonds, they also approved taxing themselves with an additional property tax to pay debt service on the bonds,” said Mike Dennis, the city’s director of finance. “Every year we have to determine what the appropriate tax would be that will appear on peoples’ tax bill.”
“Every year we have to determine what the appropriate tax would be that will appear on peoples’ tax bill.” — – MIKE DENNIS Director of finance
The city issued $4.5 million of bonds in April 1990 to acquire property next to the Main Library on the corner of Sixth Street and Santa Monica Boulevard to meet immediate parking needs and for future library expansion.
Then on June 25, 1998, the city refunded a portion of the 1990 bonds at a lower interest rate resulting in a lower tax rate assessed on property owners. This August, the city issued another $25 million of voter approved bonds for the construction, improvement and remodeling of the Main Library and all branch libraries.
Aconceptual plan for the nearly $50 million new Main Library had been approved by the city council earlier this year.
“So right now we’re issuing a combined tax rate on property owners to pay for the $4 million in 1990 and the bonds approved in 1998,” Dennis said. “That’s why there has been an increase this year.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 16, 2002. Read the original PDF.