VOTE NO
Measure 3-637
What you should know:
​
-
Rivergrove has no city property tax today—that’s rare and intentional
-
The City is proposing a new tax with no clear justification
-
This year, residents requested a financial audit—it’s still not complete
-
Our Secretary of State’s office has repeatedly sent letters with concerns about Rivergrove’s overspending
-
City spending and administrative costs have increased significantly in recent years​​
​Before you vote, ask:
​
-
Why add a new tax before a financial audit is complete?
-
Why are city expenses tripling with little explanation?
-
Why is the City spending beyond approved budgets?
-
Why hasn’t there been clear public discussion of the need?
​
This isn’t about opposing services.
It’s about accountability before asking residents to pay. (See graphs below.)
Once a tax starts, it rarely stops.
Complete the audit. Fix the budget. Then decide.
​
Based upon Rivergrove In-Lieu of Audit Reports on file with the Secretary of States Office, the City of Rivergrove has tripled their total annual expenditures:
​Based upon Rivergrove In-Lieu of Audit Reports on file with the Secretary of States Office, the Rivergrove Governing Body has doubled their annual personal service expenditures:
Based upon the Rivergrove Fiscal Year Budget Reports, the Rivergrove City Manager’s salary has more than doubled, now in the range of $50,000–$55,000 a year. This is to be a 20-hr/week, part-time position.
The proposed budget shows a $20,000 increase for the City Manager position, which is a 38% increase.
RIVERGROVE
Community Concerns
An active group of citizens founded the City of Rivergrove in 1971 with the intent of an involved citizenry that would play an important role in decision making.
As our population has grown to about 534 people, city official involvement with the community has become minimalized and decisions are being made without information or support. As a result, citizens don’t know what decisions are being considered by council and input provided is often ignored.
​
Specific issues that we see are:
​
-
There hasn’t been a Rivergrove Report in over 3 years or any consistent communication to the citizenry except at council meetings.
-
When citizens do reach out to the city, questions and concerns often go unanswered.
-
The city manager is the only paid position. There have been 4 city managers in the past 3 years and limited issue resolution.
-
Council has acted without an organized engagement of the public, contrary to Rivergrove ordinances and state law.
OUR GOAL
Proactive Communication & Transparency
We are a group of concerned citizens who expect our City Council to:
​
-
Engage actively with our citizenry
-
Update our land development document and codes to reflect where we are today not where we were 15 years ago
-
Fiscal responsibility with our limited resources
-
Proactively provide honest and direct communication about important issues and respond to questions asked in a timely manner