Increased property taxes put 2,000 irate taxpayers on the steps of the Capitol in November 1989 and helped drive Republican Gov. Mike Hayden from office a year later. Many local officials assumed the lid would be renewed again. This year, legislators repealed all of the old individual budgetary limits. It requires local governments to declare their intentions in a public vote when they spend more property tax revenues than the year before. However, it doesn't stop them from doing it, nor does it require a vote of the public.
Graves plans to sign it.
McKenzie, Anderson and many legislators believe local officials can be trusted to restrain themselves on property taxes because they're likely to meet their constituents in hometown cafes and shops. But it puts a lot of responsibility on local citizens to be involved in their local governments.