It’s hard to get too excited about paying a big tax bill for 200 year protection when New Orleans had 250 year protection when Katrina hit…but 500 year protection, the kind only an Auburn Dam can provide, that might cause a little more commitment, I would think.
Flood protection tax detailed
Assessments could triple for some with voter OK; officials point to benefits.
By Matt Weiser - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PST Friday, January 19, 2007
Some Sacramento homeowners will pay as much as three times more for flood protection under a proposed property tax hike that goes to voters in March.
Despite the increase, the assessment for most people will remain under $100 per year.
The details are part of a consultant's report being released today by the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency, which said in November that it would seek the higher tax.
The report yields the first glimpse of how much it will cost individual property owners for improved flood-protection. The SAFCA board of directors will take public comments on the report at its meeting Jan. 26.
Residents affected by the plan will soon get a newsletter from the agency detailing the assessment plan. The mailing label will include each property owner's parcel number, which can be typed into a tool on SAFCA's Web site to reveal that property's expected assessment increase.
The biggest average increase will hit residents of Sacramento's downtown, midtown, Land Park and Curtis Park areas. There, the existing SAFCA assessment has averaged only $18 per year. If the new assessment is approved, the average will jump to $67 per year.
In neighborhoods such as the Pocket, east Sacramento, Del Paso Heights and areas along both sides of the American River east of the Capital City Freeway, the average payout would more than double.
SAFCA officials planned to unveil the report at 9 a.m. today along the banks of the Sacramento River, with state and federal flood control officials on hand to show support.
