By the Gazette-Times | Posted: Wednesday, July 16, 2008 12:00 am
The Corvallis School District has scheduled a public hearing for tonight to take comments about the possibility of applying an excise tax to building permits. The proceeds would pay for new or expanded school facilities. The hearing will begin at 6 p.m. in the district office board room at 1555 S.W. 35th St.
A second public meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. July 31, also at the district office.
The Oregon Legislature approved the excise construction tax in 2007 when it passed Senate Bill 1036 allowing school districts to work with city and county governments to tax new residential and nonresidential development.
The tax would be assessed at $1 per square foot for residential construction and 50 cents per square foot for nonresidential buildings built within the district's jurisdiction. The tax is not to exceed $25,000 per building permit or $25,000 per structure, whichever is less.
Revenue from the excise construction tax can be used for land acquisition, building new schools or remodeling existing ones, purchasing new equipment or furnishings, architectural, engineering or legal fees associated with capital improvements, or the payment of bonds issued to finance capital improvements.
District officials say the tax would require developers to share the cost of growth with the school district and that it would provide funds necessary for critical capital improvements not covered by the facilities improvement bond passed by voters in 2002.
An information sheet about the excise tax is available on the district's Web site, www.csd509j.net. Questions can also be directed to Facilities Manager Greg Lecuyer at 757-5789 or greg.lecuyer@