Measure 3-346 - Appears on November 3, 2009 ballot in City of Estacada

Proposed Amendment to Chapter II, Section 4 of the City of Estacada Charter:

4(b). Reserved Powers.  The citizens of Estacada reserve the following municipal taxation powers to themselves exclusively:

1. To enact or increase a tax of any kind;
2. To enact a new fee or charge;
3. To increase the amount of an existing fee or charge by more than 3% over the previous year;
4. To authorize another entity to collect any tax, fee or charge on behalf of the City;

4(c).  Exercise of Reserved Powers.

1. The qualified voters of the City may only exercise the powers listed in Section 4(b) by citizen initiative or legislative referral from the City Council at a general election in an even numbered year or an election where at least half of the eligible voters cast ballots.
2. Notwithstanding Section 4(b), a special assessment against property owners may be drafted and proposed in any manner provided by state law for local improvement districts.  An assessment for non-emergency purposes may not be imposed until the City has received the written consent of at least half the property owners within the proposed district.  Written consent from a property owner may not be used to authorize a special assessment if such consent was obtained more than a year from the date of authorization.  A special assessment for emergency purposes requires a finding of severe and imminent risk to public health or safety where the assessment is specifically limited to addressing such risk and is supported by at least 4/5ths vote of the City Council.

4(d).  Implementation.  Subsections 4(b) and 4(c) shall affect all municipal legislation enacted after August 1, 2008.  Therefore, the City may not receive or collect revenue from any tax, fee or charge if such was incurred under affected municipal legislation prior to such legislation obtaining voter approval under Subsection 4(c)(1).