Polk County News
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • October 21, 2015 5A
Taxes: Bills
in the mail
this week
‘Splash’ a spooky good time
Continued from page 1A
Because RMV as of Jan.
1, grew an average of 8.2
percent, a lot of these
owners could see increases
greater than 3 percent in
their taxes.
That uptick in RMV in-
creases the countywide
total to $7.58 billion.
There are urban renewal
districts operating within
the cities of Salem, Dallas,
Independence and Mon-
mouth.
“From these combined
urban renewal districts,
$2,688,079 ($1,846,715,
Salem; $144,171, Dallas;
$448,370, Independence;
$248,823, Monmouth) in
taxes will be collected
from the Division of Tax
and Levies that goes to-
ward urban renewal proj-
ects,” Schmidt said.
Treasurer Linda Fox said
statements were mailed
this week and taxes are
due by Nov. 16.
Schmidt encourages
property owners to review
their tax statement for ac-
curacy of information,
such as the correct owner-
ship, mailing and location
address. If there are any
questions or changes need-
ed, contact the Assessor’s
Office at 503-623-8391.
There are options for
paying your property taxes.
You can mail in your tax
payment, bring it to the Tax
Collectors Office in the
courthouse or use the on-
line payment program. If
you have questions about
where to pay your taxes or
how to pay your taxes, call
the Tax Office at 503-623-
9264.
If you disagree with the
RMV placed on your prop-
erty, you can have your
property reassessed for
free by calling the asses-
sor’s office at 503-623-
8391. If you still don’t agree
after the review, you can
find instructions on the
back of the tax statement
on how to appeal to the
local Board of Property Tax
Appeals.
The Itemizer-Observer
Dallas Aquatic Center puts on Halloween show for youngsters on Saturday
By Emily Mentzer
DALLAS — “Thar be pi-
rates” in the Dallas Aquatic
Center on Saturday — and
mercreatures and head
hunters and other ghouls
and goblins.
Witches surround the
“cauldron” while children
dive for coins used later to
pay the boatman.
The event is good, scary
fun, and completely safe,
said Tom Snyder, organizer
of the annual Halloween
event at the aquatic center.
With lifeguards as mon-
sters and a complete staff of
lifeguards on duty observing,
the scariest thing is how
much fun everyone will have.
“Have you ever been to the
Pirates of the Caribbean (at
Disneyland)? Have you ever
wanted to get out and run
around with the pirates and
stuff? So did I,” Snyder said.
The event is geared to-
ward children in elemen-
tary school and those in
sixth grade. The goal is to
find Capt. Jack Lantern’s
treasure chest.
But before that, children
are taken on a kayak with a
pirate guide through a tun-
nel filled with water crea-
tures before negotiating a
balance beam plank.
“We have creatures in the
water that come out, pas-
sages that you have to be
pulled through or swim
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS AQUATIC CENTER/ for Itemizer-Observer
Scary aquatic creatures await unsuspecting visitors during the Dallas Aquatic Cen-
ter’s annual ‘Monster Splash.’ The Halloween-themed event take place on Saturday.
through,” Snyder said. “It’s
very safe.”
Volunteers and lifeguards
make up the monsters, who
tone it down a bit for the first
half hour of the show for
those in preschool before
the real frights come out.
“All my characters and
cast come in and put on
their fangs,” Snyder said.
“That’s the real PG version.”
At the end, children meet
Capt. Jack Lantern, who is
Search for treasure
What: Dallas Aquatic Center’s annual Halloween
swim event.
When: Saturday, 6:30 to 7 p.m. for the rated G, “not
so scary” performance; 7:30 to 9 p.m. for the rated PG,
“soo scary” performance.
Where: Dallas Aquatic Center, 1005 SE LaCreole
Drive, Dallas.
Admission: $5 for the irst run through, with addi-
tional cost if kids want to go again.
Of note: Wear swim gear as children will be expect-
ed to swim, paddle, swing and slide past creatures and
obstacles in search of Capt. Jack Lantern and his treas-
ure.
For more information: 503-623-9715.
Did you know?
• Measure 5, a Consti-
tutional amendment
approved by Oregon
voters in 1990, is still in
efect. It created a per-
manent limitation on
property taxes of $10
per $1,000 of real mar-
ket value for general
government services
and $5 per $1,000 of
real market value for
e d u c a t i o n s e r v i ce s.
Measure 5 reductions
amounted to a
$606,386 loss in proper-
ty tax revenues for the
tax districts this year,
primarily for education
services.
• Property taxes can
grow by more than 3
percent per year if the
real market value (RMV)
on a property is higher
than what is called the
property’s maximum as-
sessed value (MAV). En-
acted after Oregon vot-
ers passed Measure 50,
the MAV on a property
was initially calculated in
1997 using the 1995
RMV (the amount the
county assessor’s oice
believes a proper ty
would sell for if put on
the market on Jan. 1).
That value is limited by
statute to grow at no
more than 3 percent an-
nually. But the assessed
value, what property
taxes are based on, can
b e MAV o r R M V,
whichever is lower. In
many cases, RMV can fall
below MAV especially
during a recession. In
that case, taxes are based
on RMV, which can grow
— or fall — by more
than 3 percent in a year.
Former
Tyco site
has sold
Sunday, Oct. 25, 2015
7:00 to 9:00 pm
Free for high school students
and their parents
1175 SE Howe St., Dallas • 503-623-2331
“like Santa Claus turned pi-
rate,” Snyder said.
“The kids go through all
the scary stuff, so it’s nice to
end with a nice person,” he
said. “My captain will ask
them a question — it’s a real
easy question — and the kid
gets to take a coin out of his
treasure chest. They can use
that coin to exchange for
candy at the front desk.”
In the aquatic center’s
party room, the swim club
will have a café set up in the
style of the Blue Bayou
restaurant at Disneyland.
“Parents can sit down
and eat and watch what
their kids are doing at the
same time,” Snyder said.
Games and food will be
available in the party room.
Participants may buy tickets
to play the games and eat
scary treats such as
mummy wraps or spaghetti
and eyeballs.
DALLAS — The long-va-
cant former Tyco building in
Dallas has a new owner.
Dallas City Manager Ron
Foggin announced the clos-
ing of the sale to American
Gas & Technology at the Dal-
las City Council meeting
Monday night.
He said the sale was final
on Oct. 2, but the company
isn’t in production at the facil-
ity off Monmouth Cutoff Road
yet.
He said the business spe-
cializes in compressed natu-
ral gas and has patents in the
technology.
“They will start sooner
rather than later and they
will be employing people,”
Foggin said.
The former Tyco site will
be the company’s first pro-
duction facility. Foggin said
the business wanted to set
up shop in Oregon.
“They are pretty serious,”
Foggin said. “They looked at
several sites in Oregon.”
The company’s website says
it is developing technology
that could create liquified nat-
ural gas fueling stations.
“Natural gas not only saves
money, but also reduces
greenhouse gases and U.S.
dependence on foreign oil,” it
said.