UPDATE: City's bond counsel says tax abatement program has a $500,000 cap

decorahnews.com reported earlier Wednesday that City of Decorah officials had said a proposed tax abatement program would use "net taxable property values" instead of assessed property values."  That's an important different because by using "net taxable property values," the tax abatements would be available to owners of new houses worth as much as $919,000.

City Manager Chad Bird checked with the city's bond counsel Wednesday and says he misspoke: "Our bond counsel states that assessed (valuations) and "actual value" added are used interchangeably in legal terms and are different from "(net) taxable value."  

Bird says the bond counsel says a $500,000 valuation cap on improvements is on the assessed valuation--before any credits or rollbacks are applied to reach "net taxable property values."

City council members will meet Monday, September 29th, to resume their discussion of the tax abatement proposal.  Bird says he will inform city council members of the updated information.