Marysville mayor concerned about tax-exempt properties

Construction of the new TriCounty Juvenile Rehabilitation Center in Marysville is to start next month, but Mayor Chris Branscum doesn’t think it’s too late in the game to find a new location for the facility.

His concern is the facility is one of several tax-exempt properties in Marysville that could be sites for commercial, industrial or residential property that would

bring in tax revenue for the city.

“The issue is larger than the specifics of the juvenile detention center,” Branscum said.

He said there needs to be a rebalancing so there are more properties on the city’s tax rolls than there are now. Some of the tax-exempt properties he mentioned that are located in Marysville are the Yuba County Sheriff ’s Office, the Yuba County Government Center, Caltrans District 3 headquarters, and Habitat for Humanity.

Former Interim City Manager (now extra-help employee) Gene Palazzo said Marysville does not have specific data on the number of parcels within the city that have tax exempt status.

The increase of tax-exempt properties along with large retail businesses leaving the city for larger population centers is hurting Marysville, said Branscum.

While on the campaign trail, Branscum said he brought the issue up with about 200 residents. He said all of them shared his opinion that the expanded footprint of tax-exempt properties was not good for the city.

“Marysville’s on the wrong end of this equation,” Branscum said.

The issue will be on the agenda for the next City Council meeting on Jan. 19 for public discussion. Branscum said an invitation was extended to the Yuba County Board of Supervisors but none are expected to be present.

On Tuesday, Branscum presented his plan for moving the juvenile hall construction site during the supervisors’ board meeting. The property at the western end of 14th Street is owned by the county but Branscum asked why the board couldn’t build on another area the county owns outside of Marysville.

“It’s an unwelcome development for Marysville,” Branscum said.

None of the supervisors agreed with Branscum about moving the juvenile hall project but some did say the board should in the future keep Marysville’s concerns in mind when approving other projects. Gary Bradford, the board of supervisors chair, said he appreciated Branscum providing his opinion but said moving the site at this stage would cause financial impacts. He said the project has already encountered significant financial impacts that meant the project had to be scaled down.

Branscum said despite the board’s position he will continue to work on the issue going forward.

“I’m not going to give up on this,” Branscum said.