The East Grand Forks City Council approved its 2011 budget two weeks earlier, with the debate ending with a philosophical debate over raising revenue through property taxes vs. fees.
Mark Holy, a council member from 1997 to 2005, missed that meeting because he was out of town. But he still wanted to get in his two-cents worth on the taxes vs. fees issue Tuesday.
Holy said it's a "slippery slope" to continue adding fees to pay for budget items. Basic services such as police, fire and streets should be paid for with property taxes, he said.
The council added a per-household fee for rescue service this year, the latest in a string of fee additions for the likes of Greenway cleanup and street lights.
While everyone pays directly or indirectly whichever method is used to raise revenue, it's a percentage issue. If property taxes are used, the owner of a more expensive home pays more than someone with a more modest residence. If fees are used, every household pays the same.
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"Fees are more regressive," said council member Marc DeMers.
Mayor Lynn Stauss, however, favored the use of fees. "Fees are a way of equalizing things out sometimes," he said.
But, Holy countered, residents of lower-valued homes "are the ones more likely to be on a fixed income and can least afford it."
DeMers may have the captured the debate's bottom line: "The reason fees are being added these days is there's less outrage over them than over taxes," he said.
Reach Bakken at (701) 780-1125; (800) 477-6572, ext. 125; or send e-mail to rbakken@gfherald.com .
