City Council Minutes 2022 08 16 - Laserfiche WebLink

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City Council Meeting Minutes August 16, 2022 Page 4 of 9 The proposed program would be available for those property owners who owned the property at the time of Marshall Fire; would be available until Dec 31, 2024; the valuation is proposed to be capped at $180 per sq ft; and the grant would be proportional to the previous home's size. She stated it would require the applicant to verify that insurance proceeds are not paying for the use taxes. She also added that the City would still be required to collect the Boulder County Use Taxes in the process. She reviewed a possible draft process: when the Building Permit is issued and use tax paid to City the homeowner would apply for the Use Tax Grant. This would require the owner attest that they were the owner of record on December 30, 2021 and they are underinsured. The Finance Department would then mail back a rebate check and a 1099 for those proceeds at the end of the year. She reviewed anticipated costs for the program. Councilmember Leh stated there is a lot of confusion in the community on this. He asked how the 180 per sq ft number was chosen. Planning Manager Ritchie stated the number is not what staff expects to be the cost for most home rebuilds, but rather this a suggested starting place for Council discussions. Councilmember Most asked if the rebate proposal would end up being similar to what Superior is offering. Planning Manager Ritchie stated the two programs are not equal. This proposal ties the rebate valuation back to the size of the original home, Superior's does not; and Superior's does not have a valuation cap this program has. Councilmember Brown noted the goal is to get people back to their homes as best we can within the confines of the City's budget. The fiscal rules doesn't allow us to waive the tax but coming up with a good program to help is what we want. He asked if the average valuation number could be used rather than the $180 number. Mayor Pro Tern Maloney stated he is interested in coming up with a good valuation number to use. He would prefer a simple process that creates less work for everyone. Mayor Stolzmann stated there is a clear public purpose in getting people back to their homes so using the General Fund for this seems an acceptable use of public funds. She noted no one likes paying taxes but in Colorado we are almost entirely funded by Sales Taxes which is not be the most equitable way to collect taxes. She noted that if we got rid of the Use Tax for those rebuilding they would simply pay a sales tax at the point of purchase so it wouldn't save people money. She stated the insurance companies should be paying these taxes. She noted the Use Tax is required to be put in certain funds and the City is bound by those rules. If we have to back fill those funds from the General Fund that in turn affects the City's ability to pay for everything else.