Despite passage of the public safety levy earlier this month, Grants Pass police and fire services still face a critical funding shortfall.
Grants Pass has created a survey that is open to residents and business owners in the city, so they may tell the City Council how they would like to resolve the funding issue. The respondent's address or business address is required to verify residency or business ownership.
The survey presents six options: a public safety utility fee that would start around $27 a month per household and $88 a month for most businesses and nonprofits, a food and beverage tax that would implement a 7% tax on prepared food and beverage purchases within the city, a general sales tax of about 2% on retail purchases that would not include groceries and some other items, a combination utility fee and food & beverage tax, a combination utility fee and retail sales tax, or a reduction in police and fire staffing.
It should be noted that all these options can be implemented by the Grants Pass City Council without a vote of residents and business owners. The City Council voted to survey taxpayers before making a decision to choose a funding option.
Grants Pass residents and business owners wishing to take the electronic survey can use the following link: "survey.alchemer.com/s3/7615203/City-of-Grants-Pass-Public-Safety-Funding-Options." The deadline to submit the survey is 10 a.m. on December 4th.
