Merced agrees to tax-sharing deal
How Merced and Merced County decide to split tax dollars may sound boring, but it’s a “really, really big deal,” Merced’s city manager said Monday.
Merced City Council unanimously adopted a tax-sharing agreement with the county the same day, and now the ball is in the county’s court. The board of supervisors meets Tuesday and the agreement is up for adoption.
Merced City Manager Steve Carrigan has only worked in Merced since January but said he may have already been part of the most important deal he’ll see in his time in town.
“This will probably be the biggest thing I work on as the city manager,” he said on Monday.
What does this mean? “It means now we can build,” he said.
This will probably be the biggest thing I work on as the city manager.
Merced City Manager Steve Carrigan
The city cannot annex new land from the county without the agreement. And, city leaders have said, developers are knocking at the door to build on land near UC Merced.
Under the new agreement, if approved by the county, tax dollars will be split with 53 percent going to the city and 47 percent to the county, according to Brad Grant, the city’s chief financial officer.
“We think it is a very solid agreement,” he said. “We thought out of the box on this one and got everyone to agree.”
The discussions surrounding a new deal have been ongoing for a decade, with the most recent deal ending in 2014. Mayor Stan Thurston thanked Carrigan for his efforts during his short time in Merced.
“You have to give Mr. Carrigan a huge amount of credit,” he said.
Check back for updates.
Thaddeus Miller: 209-385-2453, @thaddeusmiller
This story was originally published August 15, 2016 at 10:41 PM with the headline "Merced agrees to tax-sharing deal."